5 Years Later
by JC303
Summary: Metal decides to return, and check to see how everyone has been for the past 5 years since the events of Future Generations...only to find out some surprising things. Again, co-written with YolkaEd.
1. Chapter 1

"Mama...Mama!"

She still felt kind of hazy when she was pulled out of sleep, and groggily she tried to look at who was poking and prodding at her. A small ewe girl looked at her mother with uneasy terror. "Mama...I had a bad dream," she uttered, trembling.

Jill rubbed her eyes and yawned while she sat up from her bed, and the little ewe crawled into her bed; then, her lap, just for her mother to place her comforting arms around her little girl. Like she had done years ago, Jill gently rocked back and forth the little ewe, easily calming her down.

"Mama...are you mad that I woke you up?" she asked.

Jill shook her head no, and stroked her daughter's short hair. Nothing would make her mad at her. She loved her too much for that. The little ewe snuggled up in her mother's embrace, and felt her eyes grow heavy, but she tried to fight it. She didn't want to fall asleep and miss out on how safe she felt this moment. "...Mama...why did you name me Joy?" she asked, trying to find a way to stay awake.

Jill smiled; she could tell she didn't want to go to sleep. Picking up a pencil and notepad from the end table beside the bed, she wrote a simple message, and showed her it.

Little Joy squinted while she tried as hard as she could to read, and sound out the words. "...You...make...me...happy," she read, and looked up at her mom in innocent amazement. "Do I really make you happy, Mama?" Jill nodded in reassurance, and this made Joy smile the smile that Jill lived to see.

Joy yawned then, and reopened her sleep-deprived eyelids to try staying awake; only for Jill to gingerly press them back closed with her fingers. Joy finally gave in, and settled down in Jill's arms as she drifted to a more content sleep; soundly sucking on a thumb eventually. Jill moved slowly and quietly as not to wake her, lying back down in bed with Joy still tucked in her arms, and she finally had the two of them underneath the covers comfortably.

Jill gave her little girl a loving kiss on the forehead before she herself fell back asleep; holding Joy closely.

_**5 Years Later - Chapter One...**_

_...darkness... darkness... again, this damned darkness..._

_For five years, this darkness has haunted me; never once letting me sleep. I can't even begin to count the days that I've fought the urge to fall asleep. Those three forces... Purity, Corruption, Unity..._

_...sometimes... I regret ever getting involved with them..._

_A hissing whisper returns to me..._

_...those whispers again... they keep haunting me; keep telling me to give in to my inner demons..._

_Their efforts are in vain. Just as I told that damn vampire five years ago, I can endure his tricks... if only to keep her safe..._

_"...get him," ordered that hissing whisper._

_Again, that dark, metallic contraption erupted from the darkness, rushing right at me with its claws bared. I didn't even need to glance at it, as I simply formed a blade in my hands, before parrying the incoming attack. "The same song and dance as always..." I muttered. "...one would think that after five years, you'd have figured out some new tricks."_

_"Oh, but I have," that whisper said. "Observe..."_

_At that point, darkness suddenly swelled from the dark creature, flowing around him like an aura, as it grew in size. Soon enough, the creature towered significantly above me, leering down at me with a snarl._

_In spite of this, however, I scoffed. "Charming... but it's not going to make you win." Then, I leaped a distance back, before looking up at the massive, Corruption-enhanced monster. "Rather... you've just given me a bigger target, Novagod."_

_"Well then, have fun with it while it lasts," the whisper hissed again._

_At that point, the creature roared, as it reached down to try and grab me... however, I merely allowed it to pick me up, raising me up closer to it. "...come on." I taunted. "Why don't you try and finish me?"_

_As I suspected, the monster didn't seem too happy about that, so instantly, it opened its mouth, and hurled me inside, intending to consume me._

_Big mistake._

_Just as it closed its mouth, massive spikes shot out from my body, which also pierced its head every which way, forcing it to roar in pain, as it slowly began falling over. Before it crashed, however, I managed to fly out of its mouth, watching it crumble into nothingness._

_"...why do you bother persisting, Novagod?" I muttered, glancing around the area. "For five years, you've tried corrupting me... and each and every time, I've foiled you. What do you hope to accomplish?"_

_"The only thing I can hope to accomplish," Deity Novagod answered. "And that is to break free from this prison you have me in...by destroying you."_

_I sneered at that. "You don't get it. You can't destroy me." I muttered, as I folded my arms. "Not unless you think of a different trick to do so, at least."_

_"Metal...why did you do that?"_

_...it was her voice again. Hearing it, I rubbed my temples; trying to ignore it_

_"Metal, why are you ignoring me?" her voice pestered in a weepy tone..._

_I gritted my teeth. Just how could he manipulate her voice into saying those things? Even though I never saw her again since that day five years ago..._

_"...a thought crossed my mind," Deity Novagod's voice cut in. "Perhaps, all these years...she has forgotten about you."_

_I blinked. While that was a possibility, I found it hard to believe; especially since I had saved her life. Still... "...if she has forgotten about me... maybe it's for the best." I muttered._

_"...is it really worth protecting her from me, if she has forgotten about you?" Deity continued. _

_"...of course it is." I muttered. "I'm not just protecting her from you, though... I'm keeping you from the world as a whole, Novagod."_

_"...I miss you Metal...please, come back..." that was her voice once more._

_Growling, I looked away. "...would you stop that, Novagod? If she wanted to see me again, she'd have come back here to look for me! I know that she's better off without me in her life!"_

_"Perhaps she could also have been afraid that you would just push her away like before..." Deity suggested. "Either way, it is a pity indeed..."_

_Growling, I slowly regained my composure. "...let me wake up." I muttered. "Maybe you can try something more original tomorrow."_

_"As you wish."_

Slowly, Metal Sonic opened his eyes, as he sat up, rubbing his eyes; or rather, his left, organic eye. Due to what transpired five years ago, parts of his body, including his right eye and left leg, had become mechanized once more.

In spite of that, his organic parts had actually aged beyond what he looked like back then. He was taller definitely, and he gained more mature muscle-tone; so his shoulders had outgrown his shoulder pads that he wore years ago. He still had the same collar and wrist bands, and now even a belt the same style, no longer dragging behind that long waist-cape. Boots covered up the left mechanical leg he had.

Sometimes, he'd wonder if Sonic himself actually would look like that, were he still alive. Well, without any mechanical attachments of course.

Sighing, he glanced around the room; the same room he had received repairs in five years ago. As he got off the bed, his eyes moved towards a desk, where he saw a small, necklace with a pale-green orb stuck in it.

That necklace belonged to Light Gaia, and had been instrumental in bringing about the downfall of Novagod.

With a small sigh, Metal walked over to the necklace, taking hold of it and simply looking at the spherical gem. As he kept looking at the gem, a thought dawned on the hedgehog-metallix... it had been five years, and not even one person had come to claim it back. Along with what Novagod had said, this inspired him.

Nodding, Metal placed the necklace around his wrist, before he walked out of the room. "...I think it's time to return this trinket."

* * *

"How's that?" someone asked. At first, it was hard to tell who it was, but they turned off the welder and removed the welding mask they were wearing, showing it to be a Mobian black bear in his middle teens. He still wore the brown and blue-green baseball cap he had worn when he was ten; there was no way he was going to take off a family heirloom.

"That looks pretty good," commented another, which was a Mobian lion who was just the same age as the bear. Now his black mane had grown out to be seen, but it was still short. It would grow though, hopefully to be as long as the other lion he knew. The lion turned and called, "Professor! What do you think?"

"Well, you've certainly made improvements..." the old fox chuckled, as he had been watching the two work on this little invention. "Now, let's see if it actually works, shall we?"

At that point, coming from outside, they heard something akin to harmonica music. "Ah, what do you know; Jack must be back from Future City." the fox chuckled.

"Nice!" The bear threw off the welding mask and hopped out the door, with the lion catching it frantically.

"Striker, you have to be careful with the equipment!" the lion called out, setting the mask down carefully and then trailing his friend out the door as well.

Chuckling, the old fox took a seat, before closing his eyes. "Still the same..."

_"Aren't you going to go after them, Professor?" _At that point, a small plushie resembling the old fox fluttered up to him, tilting its head.

"No; someone needs to make sure that the house doesn't catch fire, you know." Tails chuckled. "Though thankfully, Whisker isn't too far away, so we could always have him fix the problem..." Then, he looked back at the plushie. "You go after them, though, Tails Doll."

_"Alright! Be right back, Professor!"_ Tails Doll laughed, as he quickly fluttered after the two.

Upon coming outside, the two spotted their friend. The older lion was, of course, much older than last time. He towered over the two with an incredible height, hopefully the tallest he would get, and that meant he had to wear a much longer pair of black jeans. His red mane grew so long that he had to wind it up in a pony tail, and he even had some red fur above his lips as a beginning mustache. However, while physical appearance had changed drastically, he was still the same man child as always.

"Jack! How was Future City?" The black bear asked eagerly, whom the younger lion referred to as Striker.

Looking up at the two, Jack stopped playing his harmonica, before smiling. "It was awesome! I think they were getting ready for a festival, so there were lots of people there, too! Too bad that the Extreme Gear course is being renovated; otherwise, I think it'd have been a really awesome race!"

_"So you had fun in the city?"_ Tails Doll chimed in, as he fluttered on top of Jack's head, looking down at him.

"You bet!" Jack laughed, as he looked at the younger lion and bear. "So, what have you guys been doing today?"

"Been working on the same thing we've been working on for the past week," Striker answered. "Though I think it's almost done now!"

"Oh, that's awesome!" Jack laughed. "Can't wait to see it finished!"

_"The Professor thinks it's gonna be really awesome!"_ Tails Doll chimed in. _"And when he thinks that, it's bound to be great!"_

"So Striker...when you're finished with it, what're you going to name it?" The younger lion asked.

Striker rubbed his chin. "Don't know. Never been real good with robot names..." then he looked at the younger lion. "Any suggestions Milo?"

The younger lion, Milo, made a shrug. "...I'm not sure."

"Well, we'll figure it out sooner or later." Jack said with a smile, as he looked towards the workshop. "But I really gotta see how far you've gotten with it!"

"Sure! Let's go!" And Striker hurried along back inside with the other boys and Tails Doll following them. Soon, they arrived back into the room where they just were. "Have you gotten it started up yet, Professor?" Striker asked.

"Not yet; I wanted to wait for you all to come in, first." Tails chuckled, as he looked at the robot. "Well, shall we give it a go?"

"Yeah," Milo said, nodding.

"Alright..." Nodding, Tails approached the robot, and prepared to activate it... but before he could, they all heard knocking on the door. "...more visitors?"

"I wouldn't know; I didn't see anyone else go off the train after me." Jack hummed.

"Wonder who it could be," Striker said, walking out of the room to head for the door.

As he opened the door, what he'd see was a cloaked man looking back at him; with no distinguishable features visible whatsoever. "...does Miles Prower live here?" he uttered, in a voice Striker wouldn't recognize.

"Yes, he does, sir," Striker answered politely. "Do you have any business with him?"

"...I have something I wish to deliver to him." the stranger replied, as he reached for something up his sleeve, before pulling it out; a small necklace, with a large gem encrusted in it.

"Hey, look at that," Striker took the necklace and observed its pretty gemstone. The longer he looked at it, he squinted. "...this looks familiar..."

"...it should be; you forgot it at my place five years ago." the stranger hummed.

That sparked a memory from Striker that truly surprised him, and he gawked up at the stranger. "...no way..." he murmured. "...is...it really you?"

"...it truly is." Now, the stranger's voice finally changed into a recognizable one, as he removed the hood covering his face, which revealed his true identity. "Long time, no see." Metal Sonic chuckled.

Striker was pretty stunned, and just stood there. Then he smiled. "I never thought I'd see you again...do you want to come in?" he offered with a gesture indoors.

"I suppose..." Metal hummed, as he entered the house. "...you've certainly grown."

_"Striker, who is it?"_ At that point, Jack and Tails Doll went out to the entrance as well, just as they caught a glimpse of Metal... and both of them reeled back in surprise, Tails Doll most of all. _"...B-Big... Bro?"_ Tails Doll uttered.

"...hello, Tails Doll." Metal said with a slight nod to the plushie.

"Yeah, I know," Striker laughed. "I was pretty surprised too."

"About what?" Milo entered in, and he too stopped in utter surprise. "...Professor! Look who's here!" he called back into the room.

"Now what is it...?" Tails muttered, as he went out into the hall as well, only to see Metal standing there. "...well, now..."

"I take it that you're all surprised to see me." Metal chuckled, as he closed the door after him.

_"Understatement of the century, Big Bro!" _Tails Doll cheered, as he quickly latched onto Metal's face, hugging him. _"I've missed you very much!"_

"...glad to hear it." Metal responded, as he managed to pull Tails Doll off his face.

Then Striker thought of something, "Hey! Maybe you could help us! I just got done making a robot of my own, but I haven't been able to figure out a name for it..."

"Well, I suppose..." Metal hummed, as he glanced at Striker. "...but there seems to be a lack of people in the group. Are the others over at the Clubhouse?"

Milo tilted his head in puzzlement. "...what do you mean?" he asked.

"Whisker's at the Clubhouse, but there's no one else," Striker added.

Hearing that, Metal blinked. "...wait, seriously?" he uttered, as he scratched his head. "Then... what about Jill, Brick and Ani? Where are they?"

Things became uncomfortably silent then, while most of them tried to look away from Metal.

"...Ani's been with her dad so that she could help start up Safe Haven..." Milo answered, but the others were afraid to say anything else.

"...and... the others...?" Metal uttered, as he looked at the reactions this garnered from the group. "Where are Jill and Brick?"

_"...th-they..." _Tails Doll uttered, as he sounded like he was on the verge of tears; even though he couldn't cry.

Milo was getting too sentimental to answer as well, so Striker swallowed his own feelings and sighed. "...there's something you should know, Metal," he managed to say.

"...what?" Metal uttered, as he glanced at Striker.

"Brick-" Striker voice shook, so he cleared his throat to start again. "...Brick died 3 years ago...and Jill's been missing ever since..." Tears were coming into his eyes but he turned away to keep Metal from seeing them, and tried to hold them back.

Hearing that, Metal was stunned. _...d-died...? _he thought, holding a hand against his head. "...I... I'm sorry; I didn't know..."

"You couldn't have known..." Jack muttered, as he looked away from Metal as well.

"We...didn't mean to get emotional like that," Striker stammered, gathering the courage to look at Metal again with a straight face.

"...y-yeah," Milo added, sniffing as he tried to wipe away his tears.

"...it's alright." Metal muttered, as he let out a small sigh. "...well... shall we take a look at this robot, then?" he said, hoping to lighten the mood just a little bit.

"...yeah," Striker murmured, while he and the others went down to that one room.

Metal confronted what was just a pile on the ground: a torso with a big head, two arms; well, one looked more like a type of cannon than an arm, and two legs. The limbs didn't seem to be attached to the torso whatsoever...and the robot was made out of black and dark sea green metal. Two big bolts were on its cheeks.

Looking down at this pile of robotics, Metal hummed with intrigue. "...impressive..." he hummed, as he rubbed his chin. "...I do wonder what it's capable of..."

"That's what we want to find out," Striker said, walking over to it. Behind the head, he popped open a tiny door into a compartment where the switches were, and he flipped a switch.

The pile suddenly animated and came to life. The limbs rose and twirled around, until the torso finally rose. Then the hand touched the head, while the eyes opened. A pair of yellow, lens-like eyes were slowly adjusting, and looking at all of them blankly. It jumped when Striker closed the door behind its head, and spun to meet his maker.

"Hi," Striker greeted.

The robot rubbed its head, for it couldn't tilt it with a locked neck. _"...who are you?"_

"My name's Striker and I made you," Striker said. "Those are my friends over there," and he pointed to the others as the robot turned to them.

While both Jack and Tails Doll waved at the robot, Tails simply regarded a nod to it, whilst Metal merely looked at it.

_"Well, if those are your friends...and you're you...than who am I?"_ the robot asked, turning to Striker. _"Do I have a name?"_

"Not yet," Striker said. "But we're going to give you one."

"...hm." Nodding, Metal began inspecting the robot from where he stood with a thoughtful look on his face. "...Striker... how about we see what he can do, before we think of a name?"

"Okay," Striker motioned for the robot to follow him, and it did all the way outside, just as everyone else followed. The robot's movement bounced with each step, as if its limbs were attached with springs; invisible ones in this case. Sometimes, it even was a little clumsy about it like a baby taking its first steps, but it managed to regain balance.

"So, do you think you can show us if you can do anything?" Striker asked.

The robot observed that one of its arms was some type of cannon. Bringing it up, it aimed the cannon toward one of the palm trees near Tails' workshop. The jewels on its arms began to blink and glow and power started building up at the barrel of its cannon. Suddenly, it shot a sea-green laser that burned off all the leaves at the top of the tree, and the cannon sizzled as recoil. _"...is that what you meant?"_ the robot asked Striker.

Striker shrugged, "Something like that."

"The cannon works," Milo murmured to himself. "That's a good sign..."

"It's really strong, too..." Jack hummed, as he looked up at the palm tree in awe.

"...curious..." Metal mused, his eyes on where the robot's limbs were supposed to be. "...I do have to wonder about his arms and legs, seeing as they're not entirely connected to his main body..."

"I made up these wireless motion sensors," Striker said. "I figured that limbs could break easily...so this sort of saves all those trips to the repair ward, if you know what I mean."

_"...that could make somebody pretty flexible, couldn't it?"_ the robot supposed. Striker suddenly found it on a hand-stand, and its legs spun around like a helicopter propeller; though not at that kind of speed.

Striker laughed. "Yeah, I guess it could." The robot jumped back onto its feet, and looked back at Striker. Seeing a smile for the first time, it attempted to do something like that. A light blinked on its face, taking the shape of a mouth, and with that, it made a smile.

Seeing that, Metal couldn't help but chuckle. "It's certainly more advanced than most of what Eggman cooked up back in the day." he mused jokingly.

"So how are you holding together?" Striker asked the robot.

"…_fairly well," _the robot answered back, looking over itself. Its arms suddenly switched, and its hand flipped around, while the fingers bent backward, becoming its right hand.

"…nice," Milo muttered. "He's double-jointed."

The arm switched back to its left.

"...he's certainly versatile." Tails noted with a slight nod.

"Indeed..." Metal nodded in agreement.

"…_oh yeah, and I have photographic memory,"_ The robot said. Its lens-like eyes dilated drastically just as everyone heard a loud clicking snap. Shortly after, the robot spat out something from its mouth, and showed it to Striker.

"Ha! Look at that!" Striker showed it to everyone else to reveal it was a photo of him.

"...that's quite a literal definition of the term." Metal chuckled, as he folded his arms, humming. "...Snap..."

Blinking, Tails Doll glanced at Metal. _"What snapped, Big Bro?"_

"Nothing..." Metal hummed, as he looked at the robot. "...I just got an idea for a name. Pretty silly, but..."

"Actually, that was just what I was thinking," Striker said. "Snap is a good name."

"…_Snap huh?"_ the robot muttered. After thinking about it, it formed a smile. _"I like Snap."_

"Snap it is, then." Metal chuckled.

"Nice!" Milo said, coming up to the newly named robot, Snap, and giving him (yes, since he was named, he has also been given a gender to refer to,) a hand on the shoulder pad. "Welcome to the group, Snap! My name is Milo!"

"And my name's Jack!" Jack said with a grin, as he patted Snap's back.

_"I'm Tails Doll!"_ Tails Doll chimed in, as he fluttered on top of Snap's head.

With a chuckle, Tails approached Snap as well. "My name is Miles Prower, but you can call me Tails."

Metal, on the other hand, was silent, as he glanced away with a thoughtful look on his face.

_"Jack...Tails Doll...Tails...and Milo,"_ Snap nodded to each of them, smiling, but the smile dropped when he glanced at Metal. _"...what's his name?"_

Seeing that Metal might not answer, Striker did instead, "His name is Metal Sonic..."

"...Metal's fine." Metal eventually said, still not looking at anyone in the group.

Snap noticed that Metal's behavior was a little unusual compared to everyone else. _"...how come he isn't as enthusiastic as you guys are?"_ he wondered, asking the group around him.

"...well, these guys have been working on you for quite some time now, I'd assume." Metal said, as he glanced at Snap, a small smile on his lips. "Not to mention... they work better in crowds than me." he added with a chuckle.

_"Oh, you don't like crowds?"_ Snap said uneasily.

"Don't worry Snap, he isn't saying that he doesn't like us," Striker said, setting a hand on his shoulder pad reassuringly. "He's just uncomfortable is all..."

Milo looked over at Metal. "Although Snap's got a point...you're thinking about something." even if Milo had trouble sensing a soul in Metal, his observation skills have sharpened with age.

Metal's smile slowly fell, as he glanced away again. "...yes..." he eventually admitted.

"About what?" Milo asked.

"...lots of things, really." Metal muttered, not wanting to tell them exactly what he was thinking.

Milo could almost guess what he was thinking, so he didn't bother to ask anything else other than, "...so I suppose it means that you'll have to leave."

"...I suppose so." Metal nodded.

_"Wha- you're leaving already, Big Bro?" _Tails Doll uttered, fluttering up to him. _"But... you just got here!"_

"I know..." Metal muttered, as he glanced at the others. "...I suppose we'll have to wait until a later date to catch up, then."

_"Well...wherever you're going...do you think I could come with you?"_ Snap was the one who asked that, and that surprised everyone around him.

Metal could only blink, as he looked at the robot. "...I... suppose..." he muttered, before glancing at Striker. "...but I think you need to ask him, first."

"Well...I know he just started up...but I guess Snap does need a field test, just to make sure he'll work alright," Striker murmured, rubbing his chin.

_"So...does that mean I could?"_ Snap urged.

Striker finally nodded. "It's okay with me..."

"Then I suppose it's settled." Metal nodded, as he gave Snap a nod.

_"...um... can I come, too, Big Bro?"_ Tails Doll inquired, fluttering around the Metallix. _"I mean, if you don't want me following you, that's alright..."_

"...of course you can come along." Metal chuckled, before he glanced at Striker. "I assume that you all are okay with it?"

"Just as long as you guys come back," Striker said, smiling, while Snap walked over to Metal.

"Don't worry; I'll see to it that they return." Metal chuckled, before he covered his face with his hood again.

_"...Big Bro, why are you hiding your face like that?"_ Tails Doll inquired curiously.

"...well, it has been five years since anyone last saw him..." Jack suggested, as he folded his arms. "...maybe he doesn't wanna cause a commotion?"

"Good point," Striker remarked.

"Bye Striker, and everybody else," Snap said, waving to them.

"We'll see you later, then." Tails said with a small smile.

"Right... let's go." Metal uttered, as he made his ways towards the stairs, Tails Doll fluttering after him.

Quickly, Snap tried to catch up with them. _"So...where is our destination?" _he asked.

"...I have someone I still need to visit..." Metal muttered once they were out of earshot, as the trio headed for the train station, where a train was waiting for them. "...so we're heading for Safe Haven."

* * *

A middle-aged wolf was walking down the hall that morning, yawning.

"Kekekeke! Good morning!" At that point, coming up behind the wolf was a mantis, looking quite excited for someone up at this hour. "Did you sleep well, Hunter? Kekekekeke!"

Hunter turned to his old friend with a smile. "Actually, I slept fairly well." Except for being slightly taller, and his hair being trimmed shorter and more orderly, he hadn't changed much in the few years. "How about you, Ripper? You look pretty giddy this morning..."

"Kekekeke! Why shouldn't I?" Ripper cackled. Much like Hunter, the praying mantis hadn't changed much either, aside from growing slightly taller as well. "We're getting new recruits coming to the island today! That's always the best day of each year! Kekekeke!"

"Someone's certainly enthusiastic to see the new guys come in." they heard a female chuckle, as they came across a female, black bear leaning against a wall in the hallway. "Though compared to King, you're even calmer than normal, Ripper." she said with a slight smile.

"I guess I somehow managed to forget that today the new recruits were coming in," Hunter murmured. "Course, then again, I've been pretty busy, so I guess it slipped my mind."

"For 4 years in a row Dad? C'mon!" hearing that laughter, Hunter glanced down a hallway to see his daughter come in.

Now, Anistasia Symphony had very much changed throughout the years. She was just about to meet her father's height, having hit puberty, and looking more like a girl than she did years ago. Combat boots, cameo pants, and a white tank-top was a simple get-up that she was plenty happy with, and nothing tampered with her sparky personality at all. She, too, looked pretty excited for today as she joined the three of them in the hallway.

"Kekekeke! So Ani and Queen are awake as well!" Ripper cackled, looking at the two of them. "Now, we only need to wake up Miser and King!"

"King's been awake for quite some time, actually." Queen chuckled, as she closed her eyes. Out of all the former GUN Agents, Queen had definitely changed the least, to the point that one could say that she looked identical to how she looked five years ago. "And if Sage isn't mistaken, Miser's about to wake up, as well."

"Ah, it'll be great!" Ani sighed happily. "More boys to pound if they try to hit on me!"

"Don't get ahead of yourself now," Hunter chuckled.

"I rue the day when you actually find someone you consider attractive, Ani." Queen chuckled, as she stood away from the wall. "Why don't you all see if the ferry's on the way? I'll fetch the others."

"Kekekeke! Sounds like a plan!" Ripper laughed. "Come on, let's go to the harbor! Kekekekeke!"

"Yeah, let's go!" And Ani grabbed Hunter by the wrist, dragging him. This made him laugh.

"Alright, alright Ani! I'm coming," he chuckled, following her and Ripper down the hall.

With a small sigh, Queen began walking down the other hallway. "...time sure does fly..."

Once the three made their way out of the building, they would all see a ship coming towards a harbor on the island. "Keke! There it is!" Ripper laughed, glancing at Hunter and Ani. "Do you guys think that Flamenco and Lin are getting ready for work?"

"Let's hope so," Hunter said. "Otherwise, we get the chance to wake them up the hard way."

Ani snickered. She remembered a year where the two of them accidentally slept in, and she made sure to administer the embarrassment as much as possible. Charmy certainly taught her well...

"Keke!" Ripper snickered, as he began heading for the harbor. "Come on; maybe we can spot someone lounging on deck before the ferry docks! Kekekeke!"

Ani rushed, tugging Hunter along so he'd keep up.

"Aye..." when he joined Safe Haven, he didn't imagine he'd be here, but why should he complain? He's not entirely stranded on the island with nothing to do, and since his shifts were easy, he could kick back and relax a lot...maybe too much...5 years had done nothing to the toucan, and when his hair grew out, he just cut it short; nice and proper, just the way he liked it.

"Flammy!" His relaxation would have to wait, however, as three index fingers repeatedly poked at his skull. "Wake up; the newbies are comin' in!" Lin said with a wide smile; she, too, hadn't exactly changed much, aside from one of her right arms. What had used to be a simple arm stump now held a metal detector, which came in handy for the position she and Flamenco had been given.

Flamenco batted away her hand and sat up grumbling, "Yeah yeah...I'm awake Lin, don't worry. I'm not oversleeping after what Ani did that year..."

"You still sour over that?" Lin hummed, before giggling. "Come on; it was kinda funny, wasn't it?" she said.

"Eh..." Flamenco shrugged about it. He wasn't exactly sour over it...anymore. It was a good motivator for work though... "...just wish that hombre would control his hija..." he muttered; and, of course, time had done nothing to his minor spanglish.

"Aw, she's just playing around." Lin said with a small smile.

"Who's playing around? Kekekeke!" Hearing that voice, Lin glanced up to see Ripper, Ani and Hunter approach them.

"Oh... h-hi, guys." Lin uttered shyly, quickly trying to hide behind the shorter toucan; not even time could do anything about her mood swings. "Th-the ferry's gonna land, soon..."

"How long?" Hunter asked.

"20 minutes or so," Flamenco guessed, glancing at it. "...there are a lot this year." He could notice the ferry practically overflowing with newcomers. That wasn't right, was it?

Ani, secretly disappointed that her opportunity for another prank was spoiled, went to the railing to see if what Flamenco was saying was true.

True enough, the ferry seemed to be packed to the brim, especially on the deck, where there seemed to be some commotion. "...what's going on out there?" Lin uttered.

"...does anyone have binoculars?" Ripper inquired, as he tried catching a better glimpse of what was going on.

"To the utility bag!" Something everyone always forgot was that Ani carried around a bag of things. Somehow, there always seemed to be something they needed in there, and after a quick look, she found a pair of binoculars and handed them over to Ripper.

"Keke, thanks!" Ripper nodded, as he used the binoculars to scout over the ferry... before sighing. "Looks like some of the recruits have gotten into a brawl."

"Again?" Lin groaned. "Man, this happens every year! Flammy, count down how long it'll take for King to show up and break it up once the ferry docks."

"On it..." Flamenco muttered.

"I wanna see, I wanna see!" Ani pestered Ripper. These brawls were always a thrill...

"Wait, wait, I gotta see who's fighting, first..." Ripper muttered, trying to get a better view. "...kekeke! One of them's a scorpion! But the other one's cloaked..." With a nod, Ripper handed the binoculars to Ani.

"Nice!" once she saw it, she was absorbed in watching the fight; especially the cloaked one. He had some good moves!

"I wonder what's got them fighting, though..." Lin muttered, as she folded her arms. "Always the silliest reasons..."

"Keke! You don't need a good reason to have a fight!" Ripper laughed, as he glanced at Lin with a smirk. "I thought that you'd have gotten that, by now. Kekekeke!"

"When King enforces that kind of thinking?" Lin said with a dry chuckle, glancing back at Ripper.

"Oh! The scorpion got one right in the kisser!" Ani laughed, continuing to watch. "My money's on the cloaked guy!"

"Do you think they'll actually finish the fight before the ferry docks?" Lin mused, as the ferry was only getting closer and closer.

"Knowing what happened last time, I think they'll finally just throw one of them overboard to end it," Flamenco remarked.

"Oooh! That's smarts!" Ani remarked, continuing to watch through the binoculars...until Hunter finally swiped them. "Hey!"

"Aw, come on, Hunter!" Ripper pleaded, looking at the wolf. "We need to know who's going to win! Kekekeke!"

"The ferry's here, guys," Hunter said, pointing. Indeed, the ferry was just beginning to roll into the harbor, and the rip-roar of the brawl was at its loudest.

"...then... maybe we can see who won!" Ripper said gleefully, as he looked up at the ferry.

Before that could happen, however, a loud thunderclap suddenly stole the attention of everyone in the brawl, and looking behind them, the group saw four people there; Queen, along with a female rhino, a female raven, and a male tiger, the latter brimming with electricity. "...alright, enough fooling around!" he called to the ones on the ferry. "Let's get ashore, people!"

"Time it." Lin uttered dryly.

Flamenco glanced at a watch. "...5 minutes, 24 seconds," he replied. "New record..."

Slowly, the ferry's passengers began filtering out from the ship, as the raven looked among the horde of recruits. "...Sage. How many?" the tiger hummed.

"...approximately 152 people are here, King." Sage hummed; aside from her feathers having grown out, along with a slight crack along her beak, the raven hadn't changed that much. "37 more than last year."

"Is that right..." King hummed, as he folded his arms; over the years, King's physique had gotten a lot bulkier, as if he had been in constant exercise. "Alright, who're the two who started the brawl?"

At that point, the group pushed out three people; two of them being cloaked, and the third one a red, female scorpion, whose arms were folded.

"Alright now, what's your major malfunction?" Hunter asked.

The shorter of the cloaked figures jumped, _"N-nothing sir, I'm functioning perfectly fi-OW!"_

"...don't mind him." the taller cloaked figure uttered, after having shoved the shorter cloaked figure. "He's just eager to get things started... but it seems this woman took it too far."

"Took it too far, my ass!" the scorpion scoffed, as she glared at the two cloaked people. "That little perv was taking pictures of me, I swear..."

"It's all nothing but a misunderstanding." the other cloaked figure shrugged.

"That's not how I remember it..." the scorpion hissed, glaring at the two.

"Alright, just calm down!" King called, looking at the three. "...sheesh... you guys need to learn the number one rule here on Safe Haven. If you're looking for a fight... wait until after lunch!"

The three could only look at King in astonishment at this. "...eh?"

_"Uh, understood, sir,"_ the shorter cloaked figure said, though with some puzzlement.

"Nice brawl by the way, though!" Ani stepped up to them, smirking.

"...hmph. Don't mention it, kid." the scorpion muttered, glancing away from Ani.

"Alright, let's not wait any longer!" King chuckled, rubbing his hands together. "First off, Flamenco and Lin are going to search you all for any sort of weapons you might have on you. After that, Miser and Ripper will take you to the mess hall, where we'll get you guys something to eat!"

"...King." Sage hummed, as she looked at the two cloaked beings. "...those two. We'll need to talk to them on our own."

Hearing that, the taller cloaked being glanced away.

"...sure..." King muttered, as he motioned for the two to follow him. "Come along, you two."

"Ani, Hunter, Queen, Ripper, Miser, you guys, too." Sage said, before glancing at Lin and Flamenco. "You two check up on the rest, alright?"

"Can do," Flamenco said, walking over to tend to the rest.

The shorter cloaked one looked at all of them, while they were led away by the group said by Sage._ "…uh, excuse me, but…are we in trouble?"_ he asked uneasily.

"Not in trouble, per se..." Sage muttered, as she looked at the shorter one once they were out of sight. "...well, not you, at least. Your friend on the other hand..."

"What, do you know him?" King inquired, as he glanced at Sage.

"...we all do." Sage said with a chuckle, before giving Ani a nod. "Take his hood off."

"…okay?" Ani was bewildered, but did what Sage instructed her to do, taking the hood off of the taller one.

Once she did, everyone immediately realized what Sage had meant, when Ani was met with a pair of red eyes; one organic, one mechanized. "...hello." Metal Sonic said curtly.

"...keke?" Ripper uttered in surprise.

"...well, now..." Queen hummed, as she folded her arms.

"...that's... really him?" Miser said in surprise.

"…whoa…" Hunter muttered, wide-eyed.

"…I thought that fighting looked familiar!" Ani said, a big grin on her face, giving Metal a thumbs-up. "How's it going Metal?" Then she looked at the shorter one. "…who's this guy?"

The shorter one took off the hood, and looked at Ani with yellow, lens-like eyes. _"My name is Snap," _the robot said.

"...one of your new creations, Metal Sonic?" Queen presumed, as she raised an eyebrow.

_"No, not at all!"_ At that point, Tails Doll fluttered up out from Metal's cloak, perching himself on Ani's head. _"Striker made him! He wanted to come with Big __Bro__ to say hello!"_

"Tails Doll!" Ani sure was glad to see him. She pulled him right off her head and hugged him warmly. Then she recalled something he said, "Wait…Striker _made_ you?" she asked, turning to Snap.

"_Yes,"_ Snap answered.

Ani forgot to let Tails Doll go. "…how is he doing?"

"_He looked healthy,"_ Snap answered, not quite understanding what Ani was asking.

"He, Milo and Jack seemed to be in perfect shape..." Metal uttered, as he looked at Ani with a worried look; somehow, he had a feeling that her question could be related to what happened with Jill and Brick. "...I hate to intrude on personal affairs, but is there something wrong?"

"Uh…nothing really," Ani said. "It's just been a long time since I've seen him and the guys…" She tried to put her mind on other things though…

"_I have a photo stored in my memory of him,"_ Snap said, and he spat out another photo before anyone could say anything.

Ani snatched the photo, releasing Tails Doll, and looking at it her eyes boggled. "Wow, he's taller…and…" while staring at it, she started to blush.

"…oh dear lord," Hunter chuckled, seeing the look on her face.

"Kekekeke..." Ripper chuckled, trying to hide a smirk.

"My, he's certainly changed." Sage noted. "...you know, he could still easily pass off as your kid, Queen." she eventually chuckled.

"Hm." Queen hummed, before folding her arms.

Ani looked up from the photo finally, and noticed Hunter and Ripper staring at her with those smirks. "…what're you looking at?" she asked defensively.

"The photo," Hunter remarked, though her reaction was very obvious to what he was thinking.

Grumbling, Ani withdrew the photo within her 'utility bag.' "…so Metal, what brings you here?" Ani asked, changing the subject.

"Well, I went to deliver a small trinket to Tails, at first..." Metal began, as he folded his arms, whilst looking at Ani. "...then I learned that you were over here, so I figured that I should check up on you, too."

"Really, now?" King hummed, before chuckling. "Five years of just sittin' in your city, and you decide to pay us a visit? You sure got some nerve, Metal."

"I suppose I do." Metal chuckled as well.

"If you don't have anything else to do, why not stick around?" Hunter said. "Ani here could give you a tour of the island; that's her job anyway…"

"...well, I suppose..." Metal shrugged.

_"Awesome! This is gonna be so cool!"_ Tails Doll cheered.

"Well, you guys have fun, then!" King said, as he, Queen and Sage began heading off. "We gotta get the food ready, and I bet that Lin and Flamenco are just about finishing up!"

"Right! Kekekeke, come on, Miser!" Ripper said with a nod, glancing at the rhino; her body certainly showed signs of change, as her horns had several cracks in them, and a few scars riddled her body, but she still seemed like the same person she had been five years ago.

"Right, Ripper." Miser nodded, as the two headed back towards the harbor.

"Okay then, let's get to that tour before that crowd starts running through the island after brunch," Ani said, turning to walk away.

"…_Metal,"_ Snap said, as they followed her. _"These people are strange…"_

"...yes, they are." Metal nodded. "And I wouldn't have it any other way." he chuckled, as he walked after Ani.

Ani made a secret thoughtful glance at them over her shoulder, but made sure that neither of them took notice…


	2. Chapter 2

_**5 Years Later – Chapter Two…**_

Took awhile to get around the island, but Ani showed the three of them a majority of the main places. She showed them the Living Quarters, which were long cabins lined up in the jungle, and you could only get to them in a tram.

Outside of the forest there was a sort of town area with the basic things for a civilized living; stores and whatnot. There was even a local pub, which Ani proudly said that she worked at during the nights. "All the gossip swarms in that place," she said. "It gives something for the recruits to relax and have fun at."

Finally came the Battle Arena; a place where the tough can test their skills, or a way for others to work out their problems (something that confused Snap even more). Ani told them that place usually got the most excitement on the nights when the new arrivals came in. "Old, experienced recruits battle against the new arrivals, and BOY is it fun to watch!" she said.

Then she became excited. "You should stay tonight and watch!"

_"That sounds fun!"_ Tails Doll cheered, as he looked at Metal with a giddy look. _"Come on, Big Bro, we got to see this!"  
_  
"...hm..." Humming, Metal folded his arms in thought. While he had planned on just going back to Metropolis to rest, and possibly even try to find some trace of Jill... "...well... why not? It could prove to be entertaining."

"That's great!" Ani said. "You're gonna love…" and she trailed off, because she thought she saw a certain someone walking by.

Blinking, Metal tilted his head. "...its proper manners to finish your sentences, Ani." he said, as he shook his head.

Ani's attention returned just as that someone disappeared from view. "Sorry, I got sidetracked," she murmured. "Anyway, that's the end of the tour, so go ahead and make yourselves at home."

Snap looked back at where she had been looking, but saw nothing. _"…were you looking at something?"_ he asked.

Ani was a little nervous that Snap noticed. "Oh, nothing really; I just thought I saw something, but my mind was playing tricks. It does that sometimes…"

"...is that right..." Metal hummed, before nodding. "...well, we don't want to cause a scene. Snap, let's cover up." he said, before putting the hood back on.

_"...hey, Big Bro?"_ Tails Doll suddenly said, before fluttering onto Ani's shoulder. _"Do you think I can hang out with Ani until later tonight?"  
_  
"...I don't see why not." Metal nodded, as he glanced at Ani. "You're okay with it?"

"Oh, definitely," Ani said smiling, while Snap pulled on his hood. "I need to catch up with him after all!"

_"Ooh, this is gonna be awesome_!" Tails Doll cheered.

"Hm... well, you two have fun, then." Metal chuckled, as he and Snap began walking away.

As Metal as Snap walked on, they passed by a group of Mobian dogs who were talking amongst themselves quite obnoxiously. It was hard NOT to hear what they were saying.

"Man!" one of them laughed. "There were some hotties in that new group!"

"Oh, that's nothing little bro," another said; supposedly older than the first one. "Just wait until the tourney. They know how to kick ass for sure…and they look pretty good doing it."

"Yeah; especially that scorpion lady. She knew her moves!" another dog laughed.

Metal wasn't looking at them, and he turned further away, ignoring their conversation.

They passed by another group of Mobians, and they were more polite about their conversation as well. As Metal and Snap swept past them, they heard this.

"Did you hear the rumors flying around here?" one of them asked; a peacock.

"Like what?" a jaguar responded.

"I heard that Sage can totally read your mind!" threw in a gorilla.

"Seriously?" a squirrel uttered. "Man... I'll need to keep my thoughts to myself, then."

Watching those people, Metal couldn't help but let out a small sigh._ ...some people... _he thought.

Hearing that, Snap looked at Metal questionably. _"…is that true?" _he whispered; _"Can Sage really read minds?"_

Metal nodded, as he glanced back at Snap. "...just how do you think she recognized me underneath this hood?"

* * *

Night had fallen over Safe Haven, though in the Battle Arena, things were getting fired up, as a massive crowd had gathered there. That was to be expected, as the new recruits were more than willing to test their mettle against the veterans.

"Alright, it's finally here!" the announcer called happily, standing in the middle of the stage with a microphone in her hand; Miser. "The moment we've all been waiting for; the celebratory tournament! Held once every year to celebrate the newcomers to Safe Haven! Are you ready, people?"

The crowd screamed at her excitedly. Snap looked around quickly wondering why in the world they were doing that; was there danger around?

"...don't worry." Metal said reassuringly, placing a hand on Snap's shoulder. "They're just excited for the matches to begin."

"Alright, people!" Miser exclaimed, as she looked towards one end of the arena. "First up, we have a surprising match-up! One of the latest members of Safe Haven, going up against its very founder! Let's hear it for our daring challenger, people!"

While the crowd cheered, one of the Mobian dogs that Metal heard talking earlier that day came running out. He was easily recognized as the "little bro." This Mobian dog was garbed in a stereotypical black leather garb, with earrings on his floppy ears, a Mohawk, and a pair of round, dark shades in front of his eyes.

"And now, his opponent! You all know him; the cat who needs no introduction! King the Tiger!" Miser called, pointing towards the other end of the arena.

As the crowd erupted into cheer, the tiger stepped into the arena, as he was cracking his neck, whilst approaching the center of the stage.

"Heh…a classic fight between dog and cat," the dog chuckled. "So you're the big King everyone's chattered about."

"That would be me." King chuckled, cracking his knuckles. "You ought to be pretty strong and daring, if you're directly challenging me."

"Daring is my middle name, mate," The dog said with a smirk. "And my first name is Duke."

"Duke, eh?" King chuckled, before getting in a battle stance. "Don't disappoint me, now!"

"Looks like our contestants are getting ready for the fight!" Miser said, as she stepped away from the center of the stage. "Well, let's not keep them waiting for long! Let's Battle!"

Duke didn't wait; he ran right at King and threw a punch.

However, even as the punch connected, King didn't reel back, or even flinch. He just looked down at Duke with a smirk. "...don't tell me that's it?" he chuckled, just as Duke felt something electrifying run through his arm.

The electricity pushed him away, but Duke had a weird smile on his face. "Feels like the shock therapy I had three months ago," he chuckled. Then he threw another punch; at King's face this time.

Again, the punch connected, but again, King didn't even flinch. "...all talk? And here I was getting excited." he said with a smirk, before aiming his own punch at Duke, aiming for his gut.

Duke didn't anticipate such a powerful hit, and it knocked him backwards off his feet; scrambling to get back up with a pained look on his face. "Damn, mate…you're strong!" He was hesitant this time, but he tried to aim a kick at King's gut with those thick, leather boots.

However, King merely caught it with his left hand, a wild grin on his face. "Yeah..." he chuckled, as he reeled his right hand back, electricity flowing through it. "...the strongest!" Then, he threw the fist right at Duke's face.

Duke flew out of the arena and hit the wall, making the audience gasp. Then once they found out Duke was still alive, they cheered for the victor in the arena; King. Meanwhile, Duke tried to get back up weakly with his nose bleeding severely.

As he tried that, he found a hand stretched out to him, meant as a helpful gesture from King. "...you still got a ways to go if you wanna beat me." the tiger said, before grabbing hold of Duke's arm, pulling him to his feet. "But I'm sure you'll feel just like home here in Safe Haven."

"...how amusing." Metal chuckled, as he folded his arms. "They certainly pride themselves on combat..."

"Alright, that's our first match of the night done!" Miser said, as she heard the crowd's excited cheers. "Now, who'll be next?" The crowd grew excited as a Mobian male gorilla hopped into the arena, flexing his obviously large muscles, and the next one to enter was a female rattlesnake, who hissed rather seductively upon the sight of the gorilla.

"My, my, this is looking to be a heated fight, people!" Miser announced. "Hold onto your seats! Let's Battle!"

"Well, howdy there little lady," The gorilla chuckled, eying her head to toe with interest. "I'll let you have the first hit if you want."

"Charmed." the rattlesnake giggled, as she ran right towards the gorilla, before instantly aiming a fierce kick at his pelvic area.

The gorilla cringed in his pain while the audience winced as well, and he growled. "Why you..." then he threw a big punch at her, forgetting his earlier manners.

Giggling, however, the rattlesnake seemed to slide away from the punch, sticking her tongue out playfully. "My, how harsh." she giggled, as she began dancing a slow, seductive dance.

The dance somehow calmed the gorilla; even hypnotized him in a stupor.

"C'mon Blitz! Don't fall for it!" someone randomly shouted from the audience.

But that poor old gorilla didn't hear them.

Giggling, the rattlesnake shook her head. "...rookies... they all fall for it." With a small sigh, she raised her left leg, her tongue still sticking out. "Pity." Then, she aimed a powerful kick at the gorilla's neck.

WHAM! That was a hard enough hit to confirm the gorilla knocked down, and someone came out to the arena, pounding the ground, "1, 2, 3, you're out!" and the audience roared for the rattlesnake girl.

Hissing, the rattlesnake raised her arm victoriously, as she began heading out of the arena.

"Ooh, another rookie falls for Sonia Heartbreaker; possibly in more ways than one!" Miser called, as she looked towards one end of the stage. "Now, let's hear it for our next challengers!"

This time, stepping out from the arena was the female scorpion from before, who kept snapping her pincer-hands together whilst approaching the center of the stage.

Snap flinched when he saw that scorpion. _"Her again?"_

But that wasn't all...the audience roared hysterically again for the other contestant. Stepping into the arena was a ewe...She wore heels for extended height, tight gray jeans, had an hourglass shape, wore a green jacket only the size of her upper body with the collars raised up...had short chocolate brown hair, and maroon colored curly horns...

Seeing that ewe, Metal's eyes widened, as he leaned closer. _...no way..._ he thought, shaking his head. _That... it can't be..._

The scorpion smirked. "Good luck." she said, before getting in a battle-ready stance, just as her tail rose upwards, its stinger leering above her head.

The ewe didn't do much toward the scorpion; rather, she looked around at the audience around her. Turning to where Metal could see her face, he fully recognized her. Even with a minor layer of make-up, there was no mistaking those soft, furry cheeks and those shimmering, hopeful green eyes.

"Now this is going to be an interesting match..." Miser hummed, as she looked between the two. "A battle-ready scorpion... against a good friend, who may not say much... but her actions still speak for her... ladies and gentlemen, Jillian Condit!"

Hearing those words, Metal's jaw dropped. _...Jill?_

"Now..." Stepping back, Miser inhaled. "...Let's Battle!"

Jill returned her focus ahead to the scorpion, and she bowed her head politely. Then she motioned for the scorpion to come; she knew better than to make the first move.

"...how polite." the scorpion chuckled, as she snapped her pincers several times. "Alright, don't hold back, Jillian!" Then, she rushed right at Jill, her tail shooting forward with intent of stabbing the ewe with the stinger.

Jill batted the stinger away gracefully and spun around behind the scorpion, throwing a kick at her back.

"Kkh!" Stumbling from that kick, the scorpion looked back at Jill with a smirk. "Nice form." she commented, before spinning around, trying to trap Jill in one of her pincers.

Jill grabbed the pincer with both hands, amazingly keeping it open. Then, she yanked the scorpion over and threw her down onto the ground of the arena, hard.

"AGH!" Gritting her teeth, the scorpion got back on her feet, albeit weakly. "...you're... pretty tough..." she uttered, before cracking her neck. "...the name's Ruki. Keep it memorized!" Then, she rushed at Jill again, intending to use both of her pincers to attack her now.

While rushing at her, she left a spot open. Jill crouched beneath the pincers, and delivered a mighty kick right into Ruki's gut. That was all it took to launch Ruki right off the ground, sending her skidding along the ground. When she didn't get up in time, the crowd erupted in cheer again.

"There we have it, folks; another quick finisher by Jill! Give it up, people!" Miser called, as Ruki slowly came to, rubbing her stomach whilst wincing.

Jill, worriedly, came over to help up the scorpion.

That was when Snap noticed Metal acting strange. _"...is something wrong?"_ he asked him.

"...n-no... it's nothing." Metal muttered, as he folded his arms. "...excuse me; I'll be right back." Then, he left his seat, inching his way past the crowd.

As she was helped up by Jill, Ruki couldn't help but smirk. "...you're pretty good... mind giving me lessons later on?" she asked.

Jill didn't know how to answer. She liked to, but she knew she didn't exactly have the time, so she shrugged. Someone at the side of the arena came around, "Don't you know? She's got a kid..."

Hearing that, Ruki blinked. "...so you're a mother?" she said, glancing at Jill. "...oh, I see. Sorry; had no idea." she mumbled sheepishly.

Jill smiled, and set a hand on her shoulder hoping to convey that it was alright. Then she shook Ruki's hand-er, pincer, for a good match, and quickly headed out from the arena as the next contestants entered into the ring.

Inside the arena hallways, she rested against one of the walls a minute while just taking deep breaths. This wasn't her thing... Sage was watching Joy for her while she did this. She even suggested Jill go relax a little at the pub before she came back for Joy, but still, that wasn't her thing. She would much rather spend time with her daughter than join the fight club...course, she supposed those were the consequences of being part of Safe Haven. She would chuckle if she still had her voice.

Pondering awhile, she supposed she probably should head to the pub awhile, and then maybe she could leave before the tournament was over and the people here booked it for the pub. Besides, she hadn't seen Ani in a couple days. Nodding to herself at her decision, she pulled away from the wall and started down the hallway.

"Hey, Jill!" As she started down the hall, Sonia came up behind her, walking alongside her. "Pretty good match you had, out there. Headin' to the pub, are we?" she said with a small smile, glancing down at the ewe.

Jill nodded. She wished she could tell Sonia that she did good as well, but she only smiled.

"Hoo... I was thinking of just laying down and resting; training for tonight made me really tired..." Sonia giggled. "...nah! Off to the pub, we go!" she eventually said, placing a hand on Jill's shoulder as she pumped her fist in the air.

Jill's smile grew. She could giggle too if she could, and she raised her own fist to add to the spirits.

As the two left the arena, Sonia's eyes immediately fell towards where the pub was. "I wonder if some of the new guys went to the pub in advance... let's find out!" she said, as she began walking off.

"...both of you did well out there." Hearing that male voice, Sonia stopped and she glanced behind her to see a cloaked person leaning against the wall.

Jill found this cloaked person a curious sort, while she bowed her head politely in thanks. Perhaps this was one of the new arrivals.

"...thanks." Sonia said with a nod to the stranger. "But, maybe you should hurry inside, if you want to get a shot at fighting someone."

"I'm not participating." the figure uttered, as he shook his head.

"...strange... I thought that all the newcomers were signed up for the tournament." Sonia hummed, as she folded her arms.

Jill shrugged at what Sonia said, but she did remember seeing this cloaked person in the audience when she looked around; sitting with another cloaked person. Where was their friend?

"...well, aren't you at least going to watch the rest of the tournament?" Sonia inquired. "Or were you thinking of hitting the pub?"

"...I was going to watch the remainder of the tournament..." the stranger hummed, as he glanced at Jill. "...but then I happened to spot an old friend of mine. I figured I should at least greet her."

Blinking, Sonia glanced at Jill. "...do you know what he's talking about, Jill?" she uttered in a puzzled tone.

Jill tilted her head at this stranger. Was...he talking about her? She pointed to herself to ask this of him.

The stranger nodded. "...it's certainly been a while... Jill."

Jill was surprised this stranger knew her name, but deep inside, these hopes were bubbling up about who this person could be. She didn't want to react too quickly though; the only reaction the stranger got was widened eyes. Then she walked closer toward the stranger.

"...okay, just how do you know Jill?" Sonia uttered, looking warily at the stranger.

"...like I said, she's an old friend of mine..." the stranger uttered, without moving. "...one I haven't seen for five years."

Jill stopped in front of the stranger, with her jaw dropping. These hints...could it really be who she thought it was? If only she could see whose face it was under that hood. She pointed to it, hoping that this stranger would reveal himself to her.

With a slight nod, the stranger grabbed hold of his hood, indeed revealing it to Metal.

Jill was blown away. Once the shock melted away, she broke out into a smile, even was about to break into tears. It really was him...she had waited to see him for such a long time...before she could stop herself, she threw her arms around him. It certainly surprised him, the hug catching him off-guard. Though, after a brief moment, Metal returned the hug.

Sonia only looked at the two. She was quite surprised over the fact that one of Metal's eyes were mechanized, and even more so upon realizing that he was a dead ringer for the legendary hedgehog himself... but seeing Jill embrace him like that, she couldn't bring herself to interrupt their reunion. With a slight nod, she silently headed towards the bar.

It was a long time before Jill pulled away; and even then she didn't pull away that much. She looked over Metal's face, seeing that mechanical eye. He aged...he actually, physically aged...part of her was amazed that he accomplished that.

"...I can safely assume that you're surprised to see me?" Metal said, as he smiled just a bit.

Jill smiled too, and nodded.

After a while, Metal closed his eyes. "...it's great to see you again, Jill."

Hearing Metal say it really touched Jill, but hurriedly tried to wipe away any tears that broke through. She didn't want her emotions to ruin this for her...

Seeing her wipe her eyes, Metal rubbed the back of his head a bit awkwardly. Not that he thought that he'd never see Jill again, but now that he found her so suddenly... "...so... where are you headed now, Jill?" he inquired.

Jill remembered Sonia, but turned to see her gone down toward the pub. Now she was debating again whether or not she should go...since Metal was here, Jill felt like she had someone that Metal needed to meet...

...but since he just got here, she shouldn't rush it.

Finally, Jill pointed to that bar in the distance, wondering if Metal would come with her with a motioning of her head.

"...I suppose..." Metal hummed, as he glanced towards the bar. "...though... we should probably get Snap with us, if that's the case; I'm sure he's still waiting for me."

Jill blinked and looked at Metal questionably. Was Snap the companion that followed him around?

_"Ah, there you are!"_

That shaky voice drew Jill's attention as the shorter cloaked person rushed to them. _"Metal, things were getting rough because the audience started to push and shove around on this one battle, so I got out as quickly as possible...I don't like those games. They're too strange and scary and..." _Snap finally stopped when he noticed Jill standing there; recognizing her from the fight.

Curious, Jill pulled off the hood on this one, and when she saw another robot, she was impressed.

"Jill, this is Snap. Snap, meet Jill." Metal said, as he glanced at the two. "Snap here was actually built by Striker."

Jill smiled, more impressed now. Striker built him? She held out her hand, and Snap examined it enough to recognize it was for a handshake, so they shook. This person was sensible, polite...Snap smiled. He liked Jill already. _"Nice to meet you Jill,"_ he said, with Jill nodding in return.

"...alright..." Metal hummed, as he glanced towards the pub again. "...since we're all here, shall we go to the pub?"

Jill nodded. As they walked, Snap looked uneasily at it. "There won't be any senseless fighting there, will there?" he asked Jill, and she shook her head no. At least...she hoped not. Barfights broke out once a week; twice sometimes.

And a fight hadn't erupted yet...

* * *

Ani was whistling a merry tune as she was cleaning the counters. While she did that, Tails Doll was perched on her head, looking down at her. _"Do you do this a lot, Ani?"_ he inquired.

"This isn't all I do," she said. "Sometimes when the guys want entertainment, I sing with this big band! Some of the veterans knew how to play instruments so..."

_"Really? That sounds awesome!" _Tails Doll laughed. _"Do you think there's gonna be people wanting entertainment tonight, then?"_

"Most likely," Ani said cheerfully. "After all those new arrivals, they'll be hungry for some entertainment for sure!" The entrance opened, and Ani smirked seeing Jill walk in. "Jill! How's it going?" she said happily...

...and then she saw Metal and Snap enter, and her smile dropped.

_"Big Bro! Snap! Hiya!"_ Tails Doll said happily, waving at the two.

"So, you guys came, after all." Sitting by a table not too far from the entrance was Sonia, who merely glanced at the entering trio.

Jill smiled big when she saw that Tails Doll was here, and she waved at him as she, Metal and Snap came over and grabbed a stool to sit on. Ani was looking back and forth between them. Jill found out Metal was here...and she was okay with it? Seeing that, she finally smiled in relief.

_"So, how'd the tournament go, Big Bro?"_ Tails Doll inquired, as he tilted his head.

"Well, we only caught the first few matches." Metal responded with a mild shrug. "King, Jill, and the lady sitting over there won their matches easily."

"Just call me Sonia, buddy." Sonia said with a nod to Metal, before she glanced out of the window.

Jill wondered why Ani wasn't so surprised to see Metal here, and Ani shrugged, almost reading her mind. "So Jill...how come you weren't there earlier today to see the new arrivals?" Ani asked curiously. Jill took a napkin, pulled out a pen from her coat, and wrote something down, showing it to Ani. "Oh...so she had a nightmare again, huh?" Ani asked, and Jill nodded.

Blinking, Metal glanced at Jill. "...she?" he inquired.

Jill glanced at him, and shyly turned away.

Ani knew what was up. "You never met Joy, have you Metal?"

"...I believe this is the first time I've ever heard of anyone called Joy." Metal muttered, as he glanced at Ani. "Who is she?"

Ani looked at Jill. "Can I tell him?" She nodded, and then Ani turned back to Metal. "Joy is...well, Jill's 3 year old daughter."

Metal's eyes widened in surprise at what Ani said. "...her... daughter?" he managed to utter, glancing at Jill. Never had he imagined the thought that Jill would actually carry a child, which was amazing...

...but at the same time, with what he had inside of him, it was slightly disconcerting.

_"...so Jill's a mom, now?"_ Tails Doll uttered in surprise, as he looked at Jill in awe. _"...wow, that's... that's awesome, Jill!"_

Jill made a smile for Tails Doll, but bit her lip now that it was a little embarrassing the way Metal gawked at her.

"So...Sage has her tonight, right?" Ani asked, just as Jill nodded.

Clearing his throat, Metal glanced away. "...I suppose that explains why she wasn't at the tournament..." he hummed.

"...hn?" Blinking, Sonia noticed a few people outside, headed towards the pub. "Hey, guys, we're getting visitors. You might wanna put on your hoods again."

Hearing that, Metal nodded, as he slipped his hood over his face again.

Snap hurriedly put his on, just in time for the door to swing open. A bunch of rowdy Mobian males barged in, grabbing themselves some seats, and Ani went over to be a waitress for them. "Hi boys, what'll you have?" she asked them.

"I'll have a pint of the strongest ya got, Ani!" a jackal chuckled, as he folded his arms; he seemed to be the leader of this pack.

"I'll have what he's having!" a ferret chimed in.

Sonia simply glanced at the males, rolling her eyes in disinterest, before glancing back out the window.

"Same thing all around!" laughed a mole-rat.

"Okay then..." Ani said, walking away. Then she muttered under her breath, "...if you want to be knocked out, have it your way..."

Shooting them a glance, Metal sighed, before looking away from them. _...one group like that everywhere, I suppose..._ he thought.

"Well, lookie who's here," chuckled another one from the group; a zebra. He was looking back and forth between Sonia and Jill.

Jill clenched her teeth. She didn't want to be noticed by that group... Noticing Jill gritting her teeth, Metal couldn't help but glance back at the group.

"Save it, boys; we're not in the mood tonight." Sonia said, as she glanced at Ani. "Hey, Ani! Can you give me what Will just ordered?"

"Ooh, someone's planning on waking up with a hangover tomorrow?" the jackal, presumably this Will, chuckled. "You ought to be careful; it's a tough drink."

"Pssh, I can hold my liquor better than the guys in your posse, Will." Sonia scoffed.

"What about the hot mama, huh?" the mole-rat snickered. "She can't exactly drink with that baby girl around, can she? It'd be a bad influence."

Jill restrained herself, and just made sure she didn't look back at them. Ani came around and delivered their drinks, and while she gave Sonia a shot of the same, she gave Jill a drink of water. Then Jill shook her head, and pointed with a thumb to the drink Sonia held. Ani was shocked, "Jill?"

"...hey, now, Jill, don't do anything you're going to regret." Sonia said, as she looked at Jill with a concerned look.

"Oh, what are you, _her_ mother? Let her have fun, Sonia!" the ferret laughed.

Hearing that comment, however, Metal had to restrain himself from just shooting up from his seat; as far as he was concerned, he wouldn't have those punks belittle Goddess in any way.

Ani felt a little helpless, but Jill had grown head-strong stubborn in the years. All she could do was take away the water and replace it with the alcoholic beverage. Jill took it and drank it down, cringing afterward and then softening.

"There we go!" laughed the zebra.

Chuckling, Will grabbed hold of his own glass. "Let's see who can last the longest, then." he said, before chugging down his drink, followed shortly by both Sonia and the ferret.

Metal simply shook his head, as he glanced away from that group. _...some activities, I still won't get..._ he thought.

Once all of them had at least three drinks, the zebra and the mole-rat fell over in their chairs onto the ground.

"As usual, the first two down," Ani remarked apathetically, cleaning out one of the shot glasses with a washcloth.

Snap flinched. They've done this before?

"Make that three." Sonia remarked, as she downed another shot, before glancing at the ferret. "...3... 2..."

At that point, the ferret also collapsed, completely out of it.

"...I'm getting better at guessing, ain't I?" Sonia chuckled.

"Hmph..." Will scoffed, just as he glanced at Jill.

Jill took another shot without hesitation, and took a deep breath. She felt the rush, but to everyone else, she still looked as sober as ever. It seemed to Metal that she had gotten so much tougher than he last remembered.

Even though his face was hidden underneath a hood, Metal couldn't help but smile at seeing how much tougher Jill had gotten.

"Hey... you two!" Will suddenly said, as he glanced at Metal and Snap. "Aren't you gonna join in?"

"...we don't drink." Metal responded bluntly, not even looking back at the jackal.

"…_and I can't,"_ Snap said. Clearly, he meant that as a machine, he was incapable of consuming foods or liquids, but he began to learn how to filter what he said.

Jill took another shot before Will and Sonia, and for a minute, she was dizzy. Then she straightened up, and a sly smirk crossed her lips; one that didn't seem like her.

"Seems like the alcohol's gettin' to someone..." Will chuckled, just as he downed another shot; from the looks of it, the alcohol was definitely getting to him.

"Look who's talkin'..." Sonia uttered, as she downed another glass as well. "...you ain't gonna last much longer..." From the looks of it, she was also starting to feel the effects take hold of her, as she seemed tipsy.

Jill glanced at Will with that sly smirk, and just took her sixth shot no problem.

Snap poked at Metal. _"What's going on?" _clearly he still didn't understand this at all.

"...it's a test of endurance." Metal replied, thinking that it'd be the easier way to explain it to the robot. "Whoever can consume the most alcohol, without passing out, wins."

With only a scoff, Will quickly reached for his next shot, downing it, albeit with some difficulty.

"Man... ish it me, or ish it getting warmer in here?" Sonia drawled just as she finished her next shot, fanning herself with her free hand.

Jill looked at her next shot.

This was a joke. The alcohol might've been getting to her, but this didn't compare to how sick Callous made her feel years ago.

She could chuckle if she could, and she drank her seventh shot like all the others.

_"...that's her seventh..."_ Tails Doll remarked in awe.

"Kkh..." Gritting his teeth, Will downed the next shot as well.

"Man... that'sh what I friggin' knew would happen!" Sonia managed to utter, as she was becoming incredibly shaky. "Shomeone here can't hold their... liquor!" she added, before giggling.

Jill poured in her eighth shot, but first she turned around to face Will, smirking at him with that smug grin. She could feel her body temperature shooting up, but somehow she still had complete control over herself.

And she drank her eighth shot, flipping the glass over on the table and looking at Will expectantly.

Gritting his teeth, Will poured in his next shot, albeit shakily. Slowly, he gripped the glass, and brought it to his lips, still keeping his gaze at Jill. Then, shutting his eyes, he quickly gulped down the liquid.

"Whoo-hee!" Sonia cheered, having poured herself another shot. "Ha-alright, Jill... shee if you can't make it ta' ten!" she managed to utter, quickly downing the glass.

Metal merely shook his head, before glancing at Ani. "How do they usually get home when they're that intoxicated?" he inquired.

"Uh…Jill helps Sonia home, and just kicks the other guys out the door," Ani said, staring at Jill as she poured her glass. "But I've never really known what to do if Jill's drunk…she hardly drinks."

Jill took a deep breath. It was hitting her head hard, but she was still plenty serious; the complete opposite of Sonia. Again, she forced down her ninth shot without hesitation, but afterward she had to shake off the dizziness coming over her.

Now breathing heavily, Will poured himself his ninth shot, still glaring at Jill. However, as he drank this shot, he drank it a lot slower than his last few rounds.

"Halright! We're pullin' through with a..." Sonia began, though her speech became too slurred for the group to actually understand what she was saying. Nonetheless, she gulped down her ninth shot as well.

_...this is getting slightly ridiculous._ Metal thought, seeing that whilst Jill still kept her cool, and Will seemed to be ready to faint then and there, Sonia was pretty much wasted.

Jill poured her tenth one, and winced a minute. Every time her heart pounded the blood through her head, it hurt. She forced that shot down, and then she had to rub her forehead to try and soothe the painful dizziness.

Ani looked at Jill wide-eyed. "…ten shots," she uttered.

"Kkh..." Groaning, Will poured himself his tenth shot, slowly grabbing hold of it... but he didn't lift the glass.

"Aaw, what'sh the matter...?" Sonia sputtered, downing her tenth shot as well. "C'mon; man up!"

Gritting his teeth, Will shakily lifted the glass off the table, slowly moving it closer to his mouth... and then he promptly collapsed before even putting the glass to his lips.

"AND HE'SH OUTTA HERE!" Sonia said excitedly, quickly standing up. "WOO! Shonia... winsh... aga..." And then the rattlesnake slumped back in her chair, her head wobbling from side to side. "Heee... gonna... lay down now..."

"...hm." Metal hummed, as he glanced back at Jill.

While she appeared completely calm, her mind was wasted, rendered from any thinking whatsoever. Now she just acted…

She rose to her feet, shaky at first but regained her balance.

She took the zebra and the mole-rat by their collars, and hoisted them up with amazing strength.

Snap's eyes widened. He unexpectedly took pictures when he didn't mean it, and he quickly turned away to stop that.

Once Jill kicked open the door and threw them out, she returned for the ferret and Will; picking them up all the same and throwing them outside. When the entrance door finally closed, she took a glance at Sonia…and then Jill stumbled against the wall, unable to hold herself up to a stand.

"Jill..." Seeing that, Metal quickly rose to his feet, approaching the ewe. "...do you need a hand?" he asked, as he placed a hand on her shoulder.

Jill just looked back at Metal with a hazy look and severely flushed cheeks; not entirely there.

"...you need to lay down..." Metal muttered, before glancing at Ani. "Hey, where does she live, again? I'll take her there."

"You know one of the stores I showed you downtown?" Ani said. "It's that malt shop with that apartment on the second floor; that's hers." Then she looked at Sonia. "I'll get my dad to take Sonia home…"

"...thanks. I'll remember it." Metal nodded, as he placed an arm around Jill's shoulder, leading her out of the building. "Good night, Ani."

"…See you guys," Ani replied, watching the two of them leave with Snap quickly following. Then she looked up at Tails Doll on her head. "What do you want to do Tails Doll? You wanna go with them, or stick with me?"

_"...I think I'll stick with you, Ani."_ Tails Doll said, as he glanced down at her. _"Big Bro and Snap can take care of Jill by themselves."_

"Okay then," Ani said. One more glance at Sonia reminded her, and she headed toward the back. "Hey Dad!"

* * *

"_She's unresponsive…"_ Snap uttered, watching Jill as they walked. _"…is that bad?"_

"...it'll go over once she wakes up tomorrow." Metal responded. "Aside from a heavy hangover, she's going to be alright."

"_I hope so,"_ Snap muttered._ "…she is a tad intimidating when she's intoxicated. Completely serious…nothing like what happened to Sonia."_

"...different people react differently to alcohol, I assume." Metal mused. "Not that I would know about that from personal experience..."

"_I see…"_ Snap murmured. Then Jill suddenly stopped, and made a point at a building. Looking at it, Snap blinked. _"This is the shop."_

"...so it is..." Metal responded, as he led Jill towards that shop. Once the three got to it, the hedgehog-metallix knocked on the door. Just seconds afterwards, the door opened on its own. "...I suppose we're expected."

"…_scary,"_ Snap uttered shakily, and then they entered inside the shop.

The shop was cold; with chairs sitting on the tables and lights off. They walked up behind the counter, and there was a way upstairs. Jill had trouble with each of the steps as they helped her up, but she managed them, making it to the door at the top.

As they reached it, the door opened up on its own as well. "Well, well, well. Been having fun tonight, have we?" they heard Sage call from within the apartment.

"...she still hasn't changed..." Metal sighed, as he led Jill into the apartment.

When they reached a certain room, they found Sage sitting on the sofa beside an arrangement of toys on the ground.

A little ewe stood up from the ground, having heard Sage talk to them, and excitedly ran up to them. Metal could see so much of Jill in her, with those big green eyes, those maroon-colored horns, and that chocolate brown hair. She had on a little greenish-blue dress with green trim too.

"Mama!" she giggled. "You're home!" Seeing her mother unresponsive, she tilted her head. "What's wrong Mama?"

"...nothing's wrong." Metal said, lightly patting Jill's back. "She just needs to lie down and rest, that's all."

"Okay," the little ewe said, coming over and tugging on Jill's hand. "I can help, Mama!" Amazingly enough, all Jill needed was the guidance of her daughter to lead her down the hall, and presumably off to where her bedroom was.

"…_is that Joy?"_ Snap asked once they were gone out of the room.

"That it is." Sage nodded, having watched Jill be led away by the small girl. "Isn't she just precious?"

"...she seems to take a lot from her mother..." Metal mused, as he folded his arms behind his back.

"_If Jill is the mother…then who is the father?"_ Snap asked.

"...that would be Brick Cainfield..." Sage hummed, as she sighed.

Metal merely folded his arms, as he let out a sigh. "...how... did it happen?"

"…_how did what happen?"_ Snap asked.

"...just give me a sec..." Sage said, as she closed her eyes. Soon, the sound of a drawer opening was heard, as Metal and Snap could see a document floating towards them. "It's all written there."

While he wanted to know what happened, Metal was actually a bit worried to find out about it. Eventually, he gripped the document, and began reading it.

Metal read on the first page, _"We were walking out late one night. Brick was so excited about the news…we were both really happy about it. It's really the happiest I've ever been…then again, maybe close to it. I feel like there had been a time once before where I really was the happiest in my life, but I can't recall it…"_

"_We were cut short though when we found ourselves surrounded by shady characters in a secluded area. They were nothing more than a gang of robbers demanding for valuables and money. Brick obviously opposed them, and fought them off while I could only watch. I didn't know that one of them possessed a firearm…by the time I realized they had one, the shot had already been fired…"  
_

"…_the bullet hit Brick directly in the head, and he fell to his instant death."_

"_I felt like that bullet hit me as well; I was petrified, and I couldn't believe what I saw. All my happiness, was taken away like that…my heart was slowing down, growing weak when I felt the barrel pointed at my own head; told that if I didn't cooperate, the same would happen to me…maybe worse."_

Reading through this, Metal's eyes widened in surprise. He simply couldn't believe how the bull that could channel Chaos Energy at a whim had been done in by a simple mugger. Gritting his teeth, he kept on reading.

"_I can't remember what happened then…all of it is in the dark. I must have blacked out somehow…even Sage wasn't able to find out what happened."_

"_The next I remember was that I was standing at a tall cliff over raging waves of the ocean, early before the dawn, and I could barely catch body bags flying down the cliff into the waters below."_

"_I could only guess what happened…"_

"…_but could I have…killed them? I wouldn't ever do any harm to anyone! I would never become so cold-blooded in my life…but Brick's death may have triggered something unpredictable…Still, I never would kill anyone. I was slowly losing my sanity at what happened…I couldn't go back to the Professor and the boys…"_

"…_so I ran. I became concerned about protecting myself…and my future child. The only thing I have left of him…of something that would mean everything to me."_

Metal could only shake his head as he read this. _...Jill..._ he thought, as he closed his eyes. Slowly, he began feeling that this likely wouldn't have happened if he had simply stuck with Jill and the group...

_...it's... my fault..._

"…_the last place I would ever go to turned out to eventually be my destination…"_

"_My village."_

"_By the time I came there, I was already to bursting toward my 9 months. The guards recognized me with total shock…and even with my unborn child, they felt obligated to turn me away. I was still banished after all."_

"_When my father witnessed that, he discharged them immediately."_

"_I stayed there at my village for a while. My father helped me each night while I cried my heart out through the trauma of what happened, unable to put any of it in words because of my handicap. Then finally came the day I went into labor, and Joy Meredith Condit was born…"_

"…_I wasn't sure whether or not to give her Brick's name…but it still hurt so much to think about what happened. It gave my father the joy of being a grandfather though…uh, no pun intended."_

"_Once I was ready, I set out again. The villagers told me that even if I was banished, they would always make a home for Joy if something happened. I was thankful…but I had to find a way to take care of us. Since I lost my powers long ago, I was just an ordinary girl."_

"_That's when I remembered Safe Haven."_

"…_would they understand? I have been missing for so long…and all of them are probably looking for me….but I didn't exactly want to be found. I was helpless. It was terrible, and...humiliating for me, because I was such a young mother. I couldn't take that kind of stress... If anybody could help me back onto my feet…it would be the GUN agents."_

"…_I would've gone to Metal…but I didn't want to put all that on him. Not after…what happened…"_

And that was the last writing on the document.

Finishing the last sentence, Metal merely looked down at the floor with a solemn look, as Sage put the document back where it was previously hidden.

_...I know that you might be upset over it..._ Sage thought, transmitting those thoughts to Metal, as she sat down again. _...but things like these happen. You can't blame yourself over it..._

However, Metal didn't seem to hear Sage, as he simply looked down at the floor.

"…_M-Metal?"_ Snap uttered, tapping him.

"...I'm fine..." Metal muttered, without glancing at Snap. "...we'll take our leave, now."

"Already? Can't you stay the night over?" Sage hummed, as she tilted her head. "I'm sure that Jill would appreciate it."

Metal hesitated, as he glanced away from the raven. "...I..."

Joy walked into the room then, oblivious to the mood in the room. "Mama's really tired," she said with wide eyes; pure amazement in her voice.

"I bet she must be." Sage chuckled, as she glanced at Joy. "Did you help her into bed, Joy?"

"M-hm," she hummed, nodding. Then she saw Metal. "Hi," she said with a cute little wave. "My name is Joy, and I'm 3 years old. What's your name?"

Glancing at Joy, even under his hood, Metal tried to hide a small smile. "...my name's Metal. It's nice to meet you, Joy." he said with a nod to the little ewe.

"M..." When Joy tried to pronounce Metal's name, this was what was said. "...Metoh..." Her 3 year old tongue wasn't quite sophisticated enough to be able to say his name correctly.

Still, her attempt at saying it made Metal chuckle. _...I'm sure you'll get it right sooner or later, Joy..._ he thought.

Snap walked on up to her, and he even removed his hood. He figured it was safe for a little girl to see his face. _"My name is Snap,"_ he said.

So she tried to say that. "S...Smap." I guess that was also a little hard for her to pronounce correctly. Then she forgot about pronouncing the word when she saw that Snap was a robot. "Ooooh!" She went up and touched his face, feeling the smooth metal. "...you're cold," she muttered, shivering.

_"Well, yes, I'm a robot,"_ Snap said.

Seeing that, Metal glanced away. He wasn't sure if it was alright for him to remove his hood; unlike Snap, he wasn't a full machine, and seeing his mechanized eye could frighten the little girl...

"Even if you feel cold, I know that's not bad," Joy finally said, a sweet smile on her face; the one Jill adored. "You're nice, and I like you."

Snap smiled. _"Thanks. I like you too Joy."_

Hearing that, Metal actually smiled just a bit, though he still looked away from Joy.

"...aren't you going to remove your hood, Metal?" Sage inquired, as she glanced at him.

Joy looked from "Smap" to "Metoh," and walked up to him. "...it's okay," she said. "I remember this one guy's face that looked scary because of a accident; where it looked kinda squished and red and stuff...but I wasn't scared. My Mama taught me that what you look like don't matter...it's what the person looks like on the inside that counts." She felt obligated to say that because this stranger might be afraid to show his scary face...

Looking down at her, Metal eventually sighed. "...alright, then..." he muttered, before removing his hood, showing Joy what he looked like underneath it.

"Mmmmm," she hummed, looking at him. That eye looked weird to her, but he wasn't scary. He looked like somebody she saw once... She tilted her head one way and another to look at him from different angles. "You look like somebody," she said.

"...I suppose I do." Metal hummed, as he closed his eyes.

She couldn't remember who he looked like, but she smiled at him. "Don't worry, you aren't scary," she said; reassuring him in case he was self-conscious of his looks. "Besides, you helped my Mama get home...that makes you really nice, so I like you too."

Hearing that, Metal smiled again. "...thanks." he said with a slight nod.

"Alright, young lady, I think it's time for your bedtime." Sage said with a small smile as well, as she stood up from the sofa.

"But I'm not tired," she immediately protested. She wanted to stay up and talk to "Smap" and "Metoh" some more. But a small yawn gave her away. "Oopsies..."

Sage chuckled at this. "Now, now; you'll get to talk to them tomorrow, but now, it's time to go to bed."

Joy was always surprised when Sage read her mind; it was an amazing magic trick. "Okay...nighty night Smap, nighty night Metoh," she waved.

"...good night." Metal said with a nod to Joy, as Sage led Joy away.

_"...that little girl amazes me," _Snap said, once Sage and Joy were out of the room.

"...I agree." Metal nodded, as he folded his arms. "...you... wouldn't mind staying on the island for the night, Snap?"

_"I don't mind. As long as it's this household and not the bar, I'm fine with it." _Then Snap looked at Metal questionably. _"...but I thought you wanted to leave?"_

"...I... changed my mind." Metal muttered, as he glanced away from Snap.

_"Okay then..."_ Snap said, agreeing not to question any further than that.

"...though, I wonder where we're supposed to sleep..." Metal muttered, rubbing his chin.

_"...maybe you can sleep on the couch,"_ Snap suggested. "I don't even require sleep..."

"...maybe so." Metal replied, as he scratched the back of his head. It was strange; five years prior, he was the one who didn't need sleep. "...I suppose you'll find somewhere to locate yourself, Snap?"

_"Yeah." _And Snap placed himself by a window overlooking the street. _"I don't trust this place, if they consider fighting a fun sport...so I'll keep watch here, if that's okay?" _

"...you do that." Metal nodded, as he lied down on the couch, looking up at the ceiling. "...good night, Snap..." he muttered, before he closed his eyes.

_"Good night,"_ Snap replied.


	3. Chapter 3

_**5 Years Later – Chapter Three…**_

_Darkness, again...what else could it be?_

_"Hmmm..." that whisper sounded thoughtful. "Tragedy seems to enjoy following her around, doesn't it?"_

_"...be silent." I muttered, as I folded my arms, looking around the dark area. "Keep your remarks to yourself, Novagod."_

_"If that is what you wish," Deity Novagod spoke. "...but I am amazed she learned to cope without a voice...It must be hard to be able to talk to her daughter."_

_"...if you would return what you stole, it wouldn't be an issue." I muttered, as I closed my eyes. "Then again, getting that to happen would be as likely as you showing even the faintest hint of emotion for more than a brief moment."_

_"What a clever, cold remark," Deity murmured. "But saying such a thing will not disrupt our schedule, will it?" Then the command came, "...attack."_

_At that point, the dark creature rushed right at me, intending to tackle me to the ground. Before it could reach me, however, I merely stepped to the side to allow it to sail past me._

_"Still not impressed, Novagod." I muttered dryly, summoning a blade into my hand, before aiming a slash at the monster. Somehow, it actually managed to get away from the blade in the nick of time, though I did draw blood from it. Snarling, the creature glared at me._

_"Well...it'll have to feed on hatred then..." the whisper murmured._

_I wanted to question what he meant by that, just as the monster lunged at me. Quickly reacting, I raised my blade to shield myself, but the moment one of its thin hands grabbed hold of the sword, it suddenly swung its free hand at my shoulder, grazing it, though also drawing blood._

_"Kkh..." Gritting my teeth, I quickly kicked the creature away, before glancing at my shoulder. "...why..." I uttered. This didn't make sense. I had been able to dispatch that creature for every single day of these past five years... why did it now seem to become more skilled?_

_Roaring, the monster rushed right at me again, furiously swiping its claws at me, forcing me back on the defensive, parrying each slash as best as I could._

_"Tell me Metal, which hatred is stronger?" Deity continued. "Your hatred toward me...or the hatred directed at yourself, for the things that have happened to Jillian?"_

_My eyes widened at that, and I suddenly lowered my guard. "...wha-"_

_At that point, the creature took advantage of my opening, aiming to pierce its claws through my head. In desperation, I veered my head to the right, though it still managed to cut me across the left side of my face. The sudden attack forced me to yell in pain, as I knocked the creature away again, before placing a hand against my new wound. "...damn... I got careless..."_

_"Either way...both types of hatred are strong," the whisper echoed eerily. "And all the same...that monster will feed on them..."_

_Roaring, the monster dashed towards me again, apparently with intent of finishing the job._

_However, I had no intention of letting that happen. Quickly grabbing the sword's hilt, as soon as the monster got closer, I stabbed it forward, driving the blade right through the monster's gut. "...hatred or not..." I muttered. "...it still won't beat me."_

_Just then, I felt a sharp sensation of pain ring through my body. Looking down, I saw that the creature had dug its claws deeply within my abdomen, impaling me as well. Somehow, a sneer seemed to materialize along its face, as I began feeling weaker._

_"Now...it will all be over," The whisper hissed. "Soon, you will-" then the whisper just...trailed off. Something was heard through the void..._

_It sounded like...a small child's voice. And it was...singing._

_I blinked, as I looked around the dark void. "...who..." I uttered, as I glanced back at the beast._

_Somehow, the song seemed to have an effect on the beast, as it threw its head back and forth, letting out ferocious growls. As it suddenly pulled its hand out of me, it tried getting itself away from me; however, still being impaled, the beast was forced to stay, though it thrashed about quite a lot._

_Even as I felt dazed from taking a hit like that, I looked around in curiosity, wanting to find out just who was singing._

_The singing was growing in volume, and the beast started to deteriorate away as it thrashed._

_"...what?" Deity whispered; an actual hint of surprise in his voice._

_I actually shared Deity's surprise at the moment. Dropping the blade, I could only step back, while I saw the creature slowly fade away and let out a chilling wail of death. "...who was...?" I uttered, before I clutched my wound; the beast had managed to strike me deeply._

_Then I suddenly felt very small hands press down on the wound, and soon, I started to feel less pain..._

_I could only blink, as I glanced down at my wound. "...who..."_

At that point, Metal opened his eyes, albeit slowly. _...what kind of dream..._ he thought, as he rubbed his head.

Seeing Metal move, a tiny figure jumped a tad. "...oh, sorry Metoh, did I wake you up?" It was Joy, and she was standing next to the couch where Metal slept on. Outside, it was still dark, but it was unknown what time it was. Snap stood there by the window in silence; a baffled look on his face.

Blinking, Metal glanced at Joy for a moment. _...could she have... _he thought, before shaking his head, smiling just a bit. "...it's alright, Joy." he said with a nod.

"...then that means it helped," Joy said, smiling with relief. "...I woke up because I had a bad dream again, and I was going to go to Mama, but then I saw that you were making a scared face in your sleep. I thought maybe you were having a bad dream too...so I sang to you so you wouldn't be scared no more."

_"...and from the looks of it, it was actually working,"_ Snap uttered.

"...it... did..." Metal muttered, as he sat up, whilst looking down at Joy. _...she really is something else... _he thought, before smiling. "...thanks, Joy. I owe you one."

"You're welcome," Joy said, smiling sweetly again.

With a small chuckle, Metal straightened himself up. "...you said that you had a bad dream?" he inquired.

"M-hm," she nodded, twiddling her thumbs.

"...what happened in it?" Metal inquired, though right after he said that, he glanced away from Joy. "You... don't have to tell me, if you don't want to..." he said.

"... I run," she said, looking thoughtful as she tried to remember. "I run from noises that scare me..."

_"...what kind of noises?"_ Snap asked.

"...it sounds like a monster," Joy continued, shuffling her feet, "and sometimes...I think I hear my Mama scream...but I don't run from that. I try to find where she is, but I can't find her...I just hear her scream more. I know she doesn't talk in real life but in my dreams she does…"

Metal kept silent, merely looking down at Joy.

Joy looked down at the ground. "I don't know what happens, but I get so scared that I wake up…then I think that it's still the dream, and I try to find Mama…but I feel better when I find her in her room."

"...I see..." Metal hummed, as he rubbed Joy's head. "...certainly different from my dream..."

Joy smiled when Metal did that. Then she gave a tiny, but wide yawn.

"_Looks like you ought to head back to bed,"_ Snap said. _"It's still the middle of the night…"_

"Aw…" Joy moaned in disdain.

"...don't worry, Joy." Metal said reassuringly. "You got Snap, me and your mother looking out for you. If you have another bad dream, we'll help you out."

"…m'kay," Joy finally answered, nodding to Metal.

Snap came on over and took Joy's hand. _"Would you like me to tuck you back in?"_ he asked.

"Yes please," Joy answered, allowing the two of them to leave the room.

Watching them leave, Metal let out a small sigh, as he lied back down on the couch. _...I have no idea how she did that... but thanks again, Joy, _he thought, before closing his eyes.

* * *

Her head hurt…_like hell._

The morning sunlight from the window practically burned her eyes, and her head not only pounded with the migraine, but it felt like it weighed a ton; making it difficult to lift it off of the pillow that morning.

What was she thinking last night?

When Jill was finally sitting up on her bed, she had the opportunity to at least appreciate the quiet solitude in her room while she rubbed her eyes to soothe the aching burn. She tried to recollect what happened last night…

Oh yeah. Drinking contest with Will and his punk-ass group…did she win? Opening her eyes a squint she saw she was in her own bedroom. Thank goodness she didn't end up somewhere else…she remembered Sonia was there too. Did she remember to take her home?

Ani said that Hunter might take her home…but then Jill wondered how she got home being so drunk.

She gasped to herself. Metal.

That's right. Metal came to see her last night before the bar. Had he taken her home? And what about Joy?

Trying to ignore her headache, she pushed herself out of her room and went straight to Joy's room. Opening the door to the room with green walls and flower wind-chimes, she saw her daughter sleeping cozily in her bed to Jill's relief. She was alright…

…but Metal probably left last night once Jill came home.

She couldn't help but feel bummed, and she used the wall to lead her through her apartment. As Jill eventually made it to the living room, however, she found that Metal was actually lying on her couch, fast asleep.

She stood there, staring at him in disbelief. He stayed here?

"…_Jill, how are you feeling?"_ whispered a low voice, and Jill saw Snap by the window. She rubbed her temples, showing how her head hurt.

"_Sorry to hear that,"_ Snap answered. _"Would you like it if I made some coffee?"_

Jill nodded. That sounded good right about now.

"_Alright then…"_ Snap stood up and headed toward where the kitchen was. Jill, in the meantime, went over and sat where Snap just was.

As she did that, a low mumbling sound escaped Metal's lips, as he turned slightly where he was lying. "...mhrm..."

Jill couldn't help but look at him. Five whole years since she saw him last…through her headache she could remember that day so clearly. That day that the Babylon airship took her from Metropolis, how she rushed to the rear window to see if he was still on that tower.

Her head hung over so she could rub her eyes. They still burned from the light they hadn't adjusted to yet.

At that point, Metal let out a yawn, as he slowly sat up, rubbing his left eye. "...mm... is it morning, already...?" he muttered.

Jill just sat there, looking up at him; after all, she couldn't respond.

Letting out another small yawn, Metal glanced behind him, and reeled back in surprise when he saw Jill. "...ah, Jill. You're awake." he said quickly, giving her a nod.

She nodded back, and then she rubbed her temples again.

"...still suffering from yesterday, I take it..." Metal hummed, as he glanced around the room. "...where's Snap?"

Jill pointed toward the kitchen.

"...he's in there..." Metal hummed, as he nodded. "...I guess that Joy's still asleep?"

Jill nodded. It sounds like he finally met her…she still felt a little embarrassed about how Metal looked at her when he found out she had a daughter.

"...she really is something..." Metal hummed, as he closed his eyes. "...Jill... I'm sorry, for being absent for so long..." he muttered, rubbing the back of his neck.

Jill put her hand on his shoulder and shook her head. He didn't have to apologize…

It seemed like Metal understood what she meant by that gesture, as he smiled just a bit, glancing up at Jill. "...well... I'm glad that you're alright, at least." he said.

Jill smiled back. Then she pressed her hand against her pounding head while wincing. It still hurt…

"...maybe you should try to take it easy, until the headache passes?" Metal suggested, as he folded his arms.

Jill shrugged. To be honest she had been through worse…even if her head really did hurt this morning.

With a small sigh, Metal glanced away. _...never thought it'd be this hard to carry a conversation before... _he thought. "...so... what's Snap doing in there?" he eventually asked, glancing towards the kitchen.

Jill suddenly remembered something. She headed down the hall, pointing at Metal as a gesture to stay there.

Soon, she returned into the living room while writing something on a notepad. Then she showed it to him.

_He offered to make coffee this morning,_ she wrote.

"...ah, I see..." Metal hummed, as he nodded, though one thought crossed his mind. ..._Snap can make coffee?_ Shaking his head, Metal glanced back at Jill. "...so, apart from the headache, did you sleep well?"

After turning a page in the notepad, Jill wrote: _For the most part, but I think the alcohol caused me to have a pretty funky dream…_

"...really, now?" Metal hummed. "What kind of dream?"

_I was in a chamber with stairs twisting around, _she wrote on the next page. _Then I saw flying dishes…and I think one or two chairs. Then what I thought was a giant ribbon grabbed me and I rolled up and down like a yo-yo._

…_it was just weird,_ she finished.

"...I can only imagine..." Metal uttered in a dry tone; he hadn't expected her dream to be that surreal. In that instant, he made a mental note not to consume as much alcohol as Jill had, if any at all.

_How was Joy?_ Jill wrote. _I don't remember much when you helped me home._

"...well, she was well once we got here." Metal began, as he rubbed the back of his head. "After she got you to bed, Snap and I revealed ourselves to her... and she even said that she liked the both of us." he said, chuckling lightly after that.

Jill smiled. _Joy's a little peculiar, _she wrote, _but the upside is that she isn't easily intimidated by appearances._

"...she's a good kid." Metal said with a chuckle. "In fact... later that night, she woke up after having a nightmare, but before she got to you, she noticed that I had one as well..." Then, he trailed off.

Jill looked at Metal that minute. Joy's nightmares were nearly a daily basis…so she grew concerned about Metal.

_You had one?_ She wrote. _What about?_

"...it's a nightmare I've been having..." Metal muttered, as he closed his eyes. "...every single night for five years straight..."

That shocked Jill, and worried her even more. Metal too, had endured something of a trail and hardship it seemed...she was trying to think of what to write next, but all she could write was this: _...it's Deity, isn't it?_

"...yes..." Metal muttered, slowly opening his eyes again. "...ever since I absorbed him... he's been tearing at my mind every single night; trying to destroy me from within, so he can roam free." As he spoke, the hedgehog-metallix began shuddering. "...however, each time, I managed to fend him off... except for last night."

Jill's eyes widened.

_What happened?_ she wrote.

"...he..." Metal uttered; he didn't wish to tell her that it was his own fault that the monster had gotten stronger. "...he caught me off-guard, and held me at his mercy. For a moment... I grew afraid that he'd win..."

"...but then... I heard a child singing... something that drove him away..." As he said this, Metal glanced up at Jill. "...after that, I woke up... and I saw Joy standing by my side."

Jill was left dumbfounded without anything else to write, staring at Metal in awe. Did her own daughter just...?

"...I don't know how..." Metal uttered, as he glanced out of the window. "...but somehow... I think your daughter was able to stop Novagod... and save my life."

Jill tried to believe it, but this blew her mind away.

_...was she aware of what she was doing, or did she have no clue of what she did? _Jill wrote; her hand may have shaken because her writing wasn't as smooth.

"...I don't think she was aware." Metal muttered, as he looked back at Jill. "When I woke up, Joy told me that she merely assumed that I had a nightmare, and decided to sing to calm me down..."

Jill tried to think about this. Was...Joy developing something? She could understand that for a child, Joy might not notice if she started to gain powers, and things could start happening that were outside of her knowledge and control but...

_...I don't know what's going on,_ Jill wrote, _but I should tell you something. That night you absorbed Deity Novagod...when I was lying on that bed all bandaged up, I...I saw her. At 16 years old, I saw her..._

"...you saw... Joy?" Metal uttered in intrigue. "...that is... quite peculiar..."

_Then a few days later, I saw her again. She told me don't cry...that everything was going to be okay, _Jill wrote, and she set her pen down after that sentence, her head hanging. She remembered the tragic time she had over the 5 years, and how that one thought of her daughter comforting her managed to push her forward. It was the thought that motivated her to protect herself and her unborn child then...

"...how curious..." Metal hummed, as he folded his arms. "...a lot certainly has happened..."

Jill didn't write anymore. Right now, she was trying to work all of this information into a brain that was turned into mush last night. It didn't help that this brought her thinking about the past again, and she grew glum about it.

Seeing that, Metal stood up from the couch, placing a hand on Jill's shoulder. "...don't worry, Jill." he said reassuringly, wanting to cheer her up somehow.

Jill nodded, but she didn't look up. At least, not until she could smell the aroma of coffee beans enter the room.

_"Coffee's ready,"_ Snap said from the kitchen.

Glancing towards the kitchen, Metal hummed. "...you go get yourself some coffee, Jill." he said. "I'll do fine without it, though."

Jill stood up, and eventually wrote something again on the notepad. This time, she ripped out the sheet and handed it to Metal before she headed toward the kitchen, leaving Metal to read it.

_You remember what you said last night? Well, it's really good to see you too Metal...I missed you._

After reading the note, Metal couldn't help but smile, as he sank back down on the sofa, simply looking at the note.

Not too long later, small footsteps trailed through the hall and a recently risen Joy was trotting into the living room, rubbing her eyes. She could smell coffee thick in the air. As a child, that bitter smell was distasteful to her and she wrikled her nose at it.

Seeing that, Metal chuckled just a bit. _How charming..._ he thought.

"Oh, G'mornin Metoh!" Joy just now noticed him sitting there, and she was happy to see that he was still here.

"...good morning, Joy." Metal said with a nod to her. "Did you sleep well?"

"M-hm!" she nodded, plopping onto the couch next to Metal. "How 'bout you? I hope you didn't have that bad dream no more."

"I didn't." Metal replied. "I think you managed to scare the bad dream away." he chuckled.

"I did?" She asked in astonishment. She really did seem unaware of what she had done...

Smiling, Metal rubbed Joy's head. "I don't think the bad dream's coming back with you around." he chuckled.

Joy smiled up at Metal proudly.

Then she turned and her smile grew bigger when Jill came into the room. "Mama!" Joy hopped off the couch and clung to Jill's knees, almost bumping the cup of coffee out of her hands. Luckily she didn't, and Jill smiled; kneeling down and hugging her daughter tightly with one arm.

Metal simply smiled, as he closed his eyes. _...even if Brick isn't with her... she does have Joy... _he thought.

After hugging, Jill nudged her head toward the kitchen, telling Joy she should head in there, and Joy got the message. "You made eggs and bacey?" Joy said, and Jill nodded. Then Joy ran in the kitchen. "Yay!" she cheered.

"...hm." Chuckling, Metal glanced at Jill again, though he didn't say anything.

Jill sure felt better with coffee. She felt more awake, and that headache was finally dying down. After a sip, she noticed Metal staring at her, and gave a questionable look; wondering why he was looking at her.

Seeing that look, Metal quickly looked away, chuckling sheepishly. "...sorry about that." he said, rubbing the back of his neck again.

Jill cracked a small smile of embarrassment, but was also amused at how sheepish Metal was. Finally, she just turned and went back to the kitchen, probably to help serve Joy her breakfast and to likely get some breakfast herself.

As she left, Metal held his head, his hand coming in contact with his mechanized eye. _...how awkward... _he thought.

* * *

"Mornin'." As the pub was usually open around this time of day, Sage entered it, glancing towards the counter. "Anyone here?"

Ani burst through the back door up to the counter while quickly putting on her apron. "Sorry Sage, I was caught up with something," she murmured.

"Now what would that be?" Sage chuckled, as she took a seat. "No use trying to hide anything from me, Ani; you should know this by now."

_"Hiii, Sage!"_ At that point, Tails Doll fluttered out after Ani, waving at the raven. _"Did you sleep well?"_

"I think I slept better than Miser; she's always so exhausted when she's done with the tournaments." Sage said with a slight chuckle.

"Yeah, I wouldn't doubt it," Ani said. "Wish I could've been there, but of course Dad and I had to get this place in top shape for the new guys..." Then she started laughing. "Oh, I wish you could've been here earlier. The looks on the dudes' faces when they woke up outside this morning! Ha! Priceless!"

"Another band of loons who thought they could beat someone at a drinking game." Sage chuckled. "Why am I not surprised? That's rhetorical, just so you know."

"Oh I know," Ani said. "And you probably already knew who beat 'em. Jill's probably gettin' up by now and feeling cruddy..." she looked uneasily at the back door. "...my Dad still hasn't come back after taking Sonia home though..."

"Want me to go check on him?" Sage said with a slight smile.

"...sure," Ani said slowly. "...just, whatever you find, don't tell me. Sonia was loopy after ten shots so anything could happen..."

"I'll keep any embarrasing details to myself." Sage said with a chuckle, before she left the pub.

_"...could anything really happen, Ani?"_ Tails Doll inquired, glancing at the 15-year old with a tilted head.

"When you work in a bar, Tails Doll, you learn about a lot of things," Ani said, almost in a tone of pity. Then she sighed. "In the meantime, we could probably russle up some grub for Sage when she gets back."

_"Okay!"_ Tails Doll nodded, as he landed on top of Ani's head.

At this point, Sage was casually walking through the woods, headed towards Sonia's house. _...wonder just how much of a mess she's made this time... _she thought, before chuckling lightly. _Now... let's see if we can't pick up Hunter's brainwaves. _Then, she closed her eyes, focusing her powers to locate Hunter.

She picked them up easily even they were low; being asleep could be a possible explanation.

"...hm..." Humming, Sage took flight, and began flying towards where she detected the brainwaves coming from.

Her search finally led to Sonia's house; a nice, big cabin in the woods, which wasn't like the cabin barracks for all the other soldiers in a different area of the island.

With a slight chuckle, Sage made her way to the entrance, opening the door; surprisingly, it wasn't locked. "Hello?" she called, hoping to get someone to call back to her. "Anyone awake, here?"

Her response was a loud thud sounding in the house somewhere. Then shortly, a voice followed, "...ow..." which sounded like Hunter.

"...oh, my..." Sighing, Sage entered the cabin, closing the door behind her, as she walked towards where the voice came from.

One room she came into was a mess. Some chairs were knocked over, and there were a trail of clothes leaning to a futon couch; the couch's back facing Sage. But she didn't have to come around to find Hunter, because he crawled out from the side, and slowly rose to his feet shakily. His shoes were missing.

Seeing Sage, he jumped, "what're you doing here?"

Sage merely folded her arms, whilst shaking her head. "I came here looking for you, on behalf of Ani... and I can see that you've had your reasons to stay away for the night?" she said, without losing her smirk.

"I...but I-I mean, it wasn't..." Hunter couldn't find a way to even start an excuse, and there was no hiding from Sage. He sighed. "...you're never gonna let me live this down, are you?" he muttered.

"Now why would I do that?" Sage said with a small smirk, as she glanced towards the futon, where snoring could quite clearly be heard. "...now, who started it?" she hummed with a chuckle.

Hunter, in defeat, lowered his head. "...she kinda threw herself on me...so she did." But he didn't bother to stop her, which made him just as guilty.

"...I'm surprised she managed that after 10 shots." Sage chuckled, as she turned around. "Now, get dressed, Hunter; your daughter's waiting for you."

With another sigh, he searched the room for his shoes. Somehow, one ended up on top of a lamp and another hanging from the ceiling fan; something that utterly amazed him. Finally, he collected his things and headed toward the door.

With another glance at the sleeping Sonia, Sage sighed, before following Hunter out of the cabin.

"Well...at least you'll keep quiet about it," Hunter murmured as they walked through the woods. "...but if King ever found out..." he shuddered.

"If he ever found out, hoo boy..." Sage hummed, as she folded her arms. "...now _he_ would never have let you live it down, Hunter."

Hunter sighed again, but then he grinned. "Course...we have our dirt on him too if he does happen to find out..." he chuckled.

Glancing at Hunter, Sage chuckled. "Care to elaborate?" she said, even though she knew exactly what Hunter was thinking.

"There was that thing with Tasha..." Hunter murmured. "...he said they were just friends...but nooooo."

"Aah, I remember that." Sage chuckled. "You're not gonna let him forget about it, right?"

"Nope," Hunter said with his grin.

"Knew it." Sage chuckled. "...though, how are you going to explain yourself to Ani?" she mused after a short while.

Hunter opened his mouth to say, but then his mind went blank. How WAS he going to explain this to Ani? The girl was too smart to lie to, but he couldn't give her the disturbing image of what he did. "...I'll figure something out," he finally said.

"You do that." Sage said with a small chuckle.

It didn't take them very long to get back to the pub. When they walked into the entrance, they witnessed Ani flip a pancake, and next to her were breakfast dishes that were already made. Seeing that it was Sage and her father coming in, she put the pan down and placed the dishes in front of a couple seats. "Figured you two might be hungry," she said.

"Why, that's sweet of you." Sage said with a smile, as she took a seat.

"Ehm...thanks Ani," Hunter said, taking the other seat. Awkward silence, and then, "Ani, I-" and his daughter held up a hand, silencing him.

"Whatever it is, I don't want to know," Ani said. When her father gave her an inquiring look, Ani rolled her eyes. "C'mon dad. I know what each and every one soldier on this island is like when they're drunk, because I work on the front-lines while you relay instructions to me, if you know what I mean. Whatever kept you and Sonia the whole night, I'd rather not know." Then she chuckled. "Then I'll forgive you for leaving me to open the pub by myself this morning."

"Aw, I'm sorry Ani," Hunter muttered guiltily.

Sage merely chuckled at this.

_"...but just what did-"_ Tails Doll began, though before he could go too far, Sage merely shot him a look, which silenced him. _"...'kay, never mind..."_

As Hunter started eating, Ani finished with her own plate of breakfast, and she set it on the counter beside her to join the munch-fest. "So Sage, I assume that when Metal took Jill home, he finally got to meet Joy," she said. "How was that?"

"It went pretty well." Sage said with a smile, as she began eating as well. "Joy took a liking to both him and Snap almost instantly."

Ani laughed. Then she took a bite out of a piece of bacon.

"Metal met Joy huh?" Hunter murmured.

"He did." Sage nodded, as she gave Hunter a nod.

_"...so, what's Joy like?"_ Tails Doll hummed, as he glanced at Ani.

"She's one of the sweetest little things you'll ever meet," Ani said. "She's a lot like Jill where she wants to help people, and she's just so friendly."

_"...man, really?"_ Tails Doll hummed, as he looked up at the ceiling. _"...wonder if they're awake, now..."_

"Probably," Ani said. "And I'm sure she'd adore you if you guys met..." After all, what 3 year old girl doesn't like a soft plushie? Ani still had Cocoa in her room to this day.

_"Wow, really?" _Tails Doll said in a giddy tone, before looking towards Sage. _"Do you think we can go visit them?"_

"Let's finish our breakfast before we plan on doing anything, first." Sage said with a small chuckle. "For all we know, they could still be fast asleep over there."

"Oh yeah, Sage," Ani said while remembering something, looking up at the raven. "I heard that Wiper was coming down here. What's that all about?"

"I'm not too sure about the details..." Sage hummed, as she closed her eyes. "...I'm not fooling anyone; of course I know the details." she eventually chuckled.

"_Of course..." _Tails Doll nodded.

"Apparently, GUN wants to make sure that we haven't recruited any bad seeds that are planning for something big against the world." Sage said, as she glanced at Ani. "Wiper knows that King would never allow anything like that to happen, but since it's been a while since we last saw him, Wiper figured he could take the opportunity to stop by and say hello, while checking for any bad seeds at the same time."

"It'll be nice to see him," Ani said. "Hope he brings the other guys with him."

"...it'll be interesting to have him here," Hunter remarked; he started to think about how Wiper and his group would react if they found out Metal was here...

"I think he's coming with the next ferry, actually." Sage hummed, as she tapped her beak. "King told Flamenco and Lin to keep an eye out for the ferry, so I'd imagine that they'll be here in about an hour."

* * *

"Do you see it coming, Lin?" Flamenco asked, while he sat on the deck.

"...no, not yet, Flammy." Lin hummed, as she looked out towards the horizon. "Hrm... it's not running late, is it?"

"Maybe...engine trouble?" Flamenco suggested. Either way, he didn't like the idea. He hoped nothing was wrong.

"...man, if only we had some binoculars..." Lin muttered, as she folded her arms. "But Ani's not here with her bag, so we can't bet on that helping us."

Flamenco stood up from where he sat. "Maybe I can find some in the shack, amiga," he murmured. "I will return shortly..."

"'kay; just don't take too long." Lin said with a nod, as she glanced back at Flamenco.

The shack was a mess...Flamenco sighed and shook his head. They had people to organize this stuff for them, didn't they? Then he remembered those were the new recruits of two years ago. Diving into the sea of stuff, he started looking around. He passed over a paddle, life perservers of sorts, etc...

Well, he found a pair of binoculars, but the glass in one of the eye-holes broke. "Aye..." he muttered in irritation.

Then he spotted a telescope. More old-fashioned...but it looked like it was in good condtion.

"Try this," he told Lin once he stepped outside, handing the telescope to her.

"Ooh, fancy... thanks, Flammy!" Lin said with a smile, as she looked out to the horizon with the telescope. "...no ship... but I do think I see something..." Humming, she handed the telescope to Flamenco. "Take a look."

Through the telescope, Flamenco spotted something as well. Yes, it wasn't any ship, but something through the air. He had to wait for it to draw closer before he could tell what it was; a helicopter. "Ah..." he hummed. "It seems they go by air rather than by sea."

"They're going by air?" Lin asked, as she folded her arms. "Well, that does explain why the ferry didn't show up."

Finally, the helicopter flew over them and headed toward the field near the docks. It was that infamous yellow helicopter with the bee symbol on it, confirming that it was the Chaotix helicopter; though it was more advanced looking that it was 5 years ago.

Flamenco and Lin quickly ran to meet up with it as it landed, and the engine rested. The door to the pilot's side popped open, and out hopped a kangaroo in his mid-teens, wearing a dark gray-blue sweatshirt. "Hellooooooooo Safe Haven!" he exclaimed, waving his arms.

An old bee was laughing as he climbed out from the other side. "As always, you have to make an entrance Rudy," he chuckled.

"Hii!" Lin said with a huge smile, waving at Rudy.

"Again, thanks for letting us ride with you, Charmy." At that point, three other figures stepped out of the helicopter; a male cobra, a male salamander and a female bullfrog. "It saved us a lot of time." the cobra said with a small hiss.

Charmy nodded to them. "It was no problem at all, Wiper," he said, just as a half-cybernetic monkey and a duck climbed out of the helicopter as well.

The duck took in a deep whiff, and let out a big sigh, "Ah, fresh, salty, sea air."

"It's the best." the bullfrog said with a slight smile, as she followed the duck's example.

"You said it, Boomer, Natal!" the salamander chuckled, as he folded his arms, before glancing at the monkey. "What do you think, Cal?"

The half-cybernetic monkey shrugged, "Its good."

"Geez, Cal, don't you get too excited now!" Rudy joked.

"Well, you know how he is," Boomer muttered. She hadn't changed much really; she kept her feathers trimmed since 5 years ago, and her ordinary green overalls became some specialized uniform for GUN.

"Well, what matters is that we're here." Natal hummed. Much like Boomer, she hadn't changed much either, apart from growing a bit in height. "So, Newt, you ready?" she hummed, glancing at the salamander.

"You bet I am!" Newt laughed, as he slammed his fists together. Over the years, Newt had gotten more tattoos along his body, and had even pierced his ear on the behest of Boomer. "Alright, let's see if we can't find any bad seeds!"

"But let's not forget the main reason we came here." Wiper chuckled, as he hissed. Wiper hadn't changed much either, over the years. With a small sigh, he glanced at Flamenco and Lin. "So, where is King hiding at the moment?"

"If I'm not mistaken, he might have all the solders up for roll call," Flamenco muttered.

"Well, let's find out." Wiper hummed, before glancing at his team. "Let's go."

"Right!" Nodding, both Newt and Natal glanced at Team Chaotix. "You guys ready?" Newt said.

"Yep, let's go," Cal said, being the first to start walking. He got just a bit taller in the years, and he kept his hair trimmed short. Some of his cybernetic exo-skeleton was cracked, probably just out of age.

With a nod, Team Alpha and the rest of Team Chaotix began following the monkey, Natal staying closer to him than the others.

After a long walk, the group made it to the old landing strips of the harbor that GUN once used for their jets during the time it was Prison Island. Now, countless Mobians were standing in organized rows on the strip of tar road, standing before the authorities in the front; which happened to be King, Ripper, and Miser.

"...everyone's accounted for, Miser?" King hummed, as he glanced at the rhino.

"Yeah..." Miser muttered, as she let out a slight yawn.

"Kekekeke... everyone's here..." Ripper mused, as he glanced at the soldiers lined up.

Rudy, of course, couldn't resist. He snuck up behind King, and started making wiggling moose-antlers on him. Some of the solders started to snicker.

Blinking, King tilted his head. "...what're you all snickering at?" he hummed.

"Er, King..." At that point, Miser tapped the tiger's shoulder, making him turn around to see Rudy.

"...hey, if it ain't Rudy!" King laughed, patting the kangaroo hard on his back. "So I suppose that the rest of the group's here, too?"

"Kekeke! There they are!" Ripper laughed, as he noticed the two teams standing on the side.

That was the cue for them to come on up to the three. "It's been awhile guys," Boomer said, smiling.

"Heh, it really has." King chuckled, as he glanced at the cobra. "...still the same, eh, Wiper?"

"You know me." Wiper hummed, as he placed a hand on King's shoulder.

Grinning, King glanced at the soldiers. "Everyone! I'm sure that you know who Team Alpha and the Chaotix are! Let's all give them a hearty welcome!"

"Good morning!" A good deal of them said, while others threw in cheers and whistles.

Cal rolled his eyes. He didn't particularly favor this kind of attention like King would.

With a nod to the soldiers, Wiper looked back at King. "Now, you do know why we're here?"

"Of course, of course!" King chuckled, as he patted Wiper's back. "Give me a sec, first..." Then, he looked back at the soldiers. "Alright, everyone! Today's a new day, and we've got several new recruits to get acquainted with! So get to know our new comrades! Dismissed!"

The soldiers broke from their rows and scattered all about conversing amongst themselves while others disappeared off to other places.

Cal let out a relieved sigh after that.

"So anybody suspicious we should know about?" Boomer started, looking at King.

"Hrm... let's see..." King hummed, as he folded his arms. "...actually, I'm not sure if it'd be smart to talk about stuff like that in the open; someone could overhear us."

"Such as...?" Wiper hummed, as he folded his arms.

"Look, let's hit the pub and talk about it there." King said with a small grin. "I'm sure that Sage and Hunter are there, and whenever I'm at the pub, the soldiers know to stay away."

"Alright then, let's head there," Charmy said. "Lead the way King."

"It'll be my pleasure." the tiger chuckled, as he turned and left, Miser and Ripper following him.

"...he really hasn't changed..." Natal giggled.

"Yeah... still the same King, y'know..." Newt hummed.

"Let's move." Wiper nodded, as they began following King.

Down at the pub, luckily, Ani had not even put the sign to OPEN yet. If what Sage said was true, then King would take them down here for whatever business they came here for. Right now she was out on the front steps dealing with complaining solders.

"C'mon Ani!" one of them moaned.

"Sorry," she said, taking no pity of them.

"But we're starvin'! Be a pal, Ani!" another soldier moaned.

_"No means no!"_ Sitting on Ani's head was Tails Doll, who simply looked at the soldiers.

"There are plenty of other places to hit for grub, guys," Ani told them. Then she raised a broom. "Or am I gonna have to _persuade_ you?"

The first one jumped when she raised her broom. "O-okay…geez, lighten up…"

"...man... and she makes the best grub on the island..." Sighing, the crowd of soldiers began walking off.

_"...so, why did we chase them off, again?" _Tails Doll uttered cluelessly, looking down at Ani.

"King is probably going to bring Wiper and the others here," Ani said. "This has always been the meeting place for secret conference stuff." Part of her loved to be apart of them too. She remembered how left out she used to be, and now she was involved in really fun secret stuff!

"Ani?"

That voice caught her off guard, and before she knew it she was confronted with a kangaroo her age. A smile burst out from her, "Rudy!"

Then the two engaged in their age old, secret, buddy-buddy handshake.

Gasping, Tails Doll looked at the kangaroo in awe. "Rudy! You've grown taller!"

"Well, this is unexpected." At that point, the others came up to the pub, Wiper looking curiously at the plushie on Ani's head. "I thought that Tails Doll was with the Professor." he mused.

Ani made a sheepish grin. "There's a story to that...one we'll tell ya when you guys get inside."

"Wow Ani, you've grown," Boomer remarked, observing the husky-wolf. She had to admit she liked her choice of style with the cameo pants.

"Captain!" Ani spotted Charmy then, and threw her arms around the old bee while he chuckled in reply.

"Its good to see you Ani," Charmy said, hugging her back.

"We're happy to see you too, Ani." Natal said with a small smile, looking at the husky-wolf.

"Alright, we're all happy to see each other!" King laughed, as he entered the pub. "Now, let's get down to business!"

"...hang on..." Blinking, Wiper glanced at Miser. "Where's Queen?"

"I'd imagine that she's still asleep..." Miser shrugged.

"We could get Sage to go get her...couldn't we?" Rudy asked.

"Don't know. She had to go looking for my dad this morning," Ani said. "I'm not sure she wants to go on a wild goose chase after everyone."

"...why was she looking for your dad?" Boomer asked.

Ani shook her head and groaned as she walked into the pub, "Don't ask."

"Alright, then; we won't! Kekekeke!" Ripper cackled, as the others walked into the pub as well.

Once they entered, Sage and Hunter glanced towards them, with Sage giving them a smile. "Nice to see you guys again." she said.

"Same to you, Sage." Wiper said with a nod to the raven.

Hunter regarded a nod to each of Team Alpha and the Chaotix as his way of greeting.

"Alright, everyone; take a seat! No one's gonna interrupt us, if anyone's worried about that!" King laughed, as he took a seat.

Everyone gathered around the counter, taking a bar stool or pulling up a chair around there.

"If you guys are hungry I can make something," Ani offered.

"Thanks for the offer, but I ate before we got here, y'know." Newt said with a nod to Ani.

"I'll be fine; thanks." Natal also said.

"...I'll have a cup of coffee." Wiper shrugged.

"Okay then," Ani said, going off to do that for Wiper.

"So anyway," Boomer said, turning to King. "Where shall we start?"

"Well, you all wanted to find out about any bad seeds on the island, right?" King presumed, as he folded his arms.

"That is why GUN wanted us out here..." Natal nodded.

"...well, there's definitely bound to be some hooligans around here. Counting the new guys who came in yesterday, there's at least 500 people living here." King said, counting on his fingers.

"Well, it'd help if you could name some of the more notorious hooligans, King." Wiper suggested.

"I could tell you a few; Will and his group," Ani grumbled, remembering last night.

"...now who exactly are they?" Cal asked curiously.

"Just a gang of guys that like to party a little _too_ much," Ani said.

"Well, even so, they're harmless." King shrugged. "Nothing that's gonna be a real threat to GUN. Now, if you're talking about someone who's notorious, look no further than Hex."

"Hex?" Blinking, Newt glanced at Sage. "Who's that?"

"She's not exactly someone you'd want to get involved with; manipulative and cold, she is." Sage muttered, without even glancing at Newt.

Hunter shuddered, "She gives me the creeps..."

"I have a feeling that some of the rookies are gonna be swayed to join her little clique..." Miser muttered.

"...alright, so we have this Hex to worry about..." Wiper hummed, as he glanced at Hunter. "Anyone else?"

"...Diablo," Ani threw in, before Hunter could think of it.

"Now, explain who this 'Diablo' is," Boomer said.

"...he's got a very twisted mind," Ani said. The rumors she heard flying around this place were atrocious; rumors that he takes unsuspecting solders into his cabin and...tortures them. No one has proven the rumors true, because they've all been too afraid to search his cabin. "...he's..." and she found the words to put it as. "...he's kind of like...a Deity Novagod-wannabe."

Hunter gawked at his daughter. "...that's a little far, isn't it?"

"It seems far-fetched..." Wiper hummed, as he looked at King. "...but if she compares him to Novagod, it's certainly something to look into."

"...we can't forget Spiel, either... kekekeke..." Ripper muttered.

"Now who's that?" Natal hummed.

"...he's really greedy, for one thing." Miser began, as she folded her arms. "And when he wants something, he does whatever he can to obtain it, no matter who gets hurt. Thankfully, he's been docile, but we can't be too careful with him."

"Is that all of them?" Boomer asked.

"There's one more I can think of," Hunter said, "and that's Raider."

"Go on," Boomer urged.

"Raider is super aggressive, and incredibly hard to keep under control," Hunter said. "Not only that, but he's got a criminal record; breaking in, stealing...he's your regular thug, but unlike most thugs, he's also pretty smart..."

"...that should be all of the bad seeds, I take it?" Wiper hummed.

"Yeah..." King nodded, as he rubbed his chin. "...at least, I can't really think of anyone-"

"Kiri."

Blinking, Wiper glanced towards the entrance, where Queen was standing, leaning against the doorway. "...who's Kiri?" he uttered.

"Kiri is... a strange case." Queen muttered, entering the bar. "She's only 6 years old... and yet, she acts nothing like a 6-year old. She has an odd fascination regarding the concept of death..."

"...but she's just a kid, Queen; how could she be considered a threat?" King inquired.

"...somehow... I have a feeling about her..." Queen muttered, as she took a seat.

"Hell...after Bloom and Gloom, I'm willing to believe something like that," Hunter remarked to what Queen said.

"...hrm..." Nodding, King glanced at Wiper. "...well, those are the ones we know about."

"...Hex... Diablo... Spiel... Raider... and Kiri." Wiper hummed, as he closed his eyes. "...we'll look into those later on." Then, he glanced at Ani. "...now, care telling us how Tails Doll managed to end up on your head?"

_"I'm on her head?"_ Tails Doll uttered without a clue, as he glanced down at Ani. _"...oh, yeah, I am!"_

Ani laughed about Tails Doll, finally bringing Wiper his coffee. "Well, to start off, we got some visitors from the new arrivals yesterday, and Tails Doll happened to be with them. One of them was a robot that Striker supposedly built."

"Wow? Striker built a robot?" that really facinated Boomer, to a point where she really wanted to see this robot for herself.

"Yep," Ani said.

"...and who was the other visitor?" Cal asked.

Ani was silent for a minute, staring at all of them. Then she spoke, "...it was Metal Sonic."

He had began drinking his coffee when Ani revealed that, and Wiper quickly held his hand in front of his mouth, to ensure that he didn't spit out any of the coffee out of sheer surprise.

"Metal? Seriously?" Natal uttered, looking at Ani in awe.

"You're tellin' me that he actually came here?" Newt sputtered in absolute disbelief.

Ani nodded.

Cal was certainly baffled, just like all the others, but his shock sank quicker than the rest. "...how has he been?"

"Okay, I guess..." Ani said. "...though he's still kinda distant."

"...where is he?" Boomer asked.

Silence in the room again.

"...he's with Jill," Hunter finally answered.

Again, Wiper had to keep himself from spitting out his coffee.

"Jill's here?" both Newt and Natal uttered in complete surprise, actually standing up from their seats.

"Yeah," Ani said quietly.

"...that's certainly... unexpected..." Wiper muttered, as he rubbed his temples. "...is there any reason why you didn't tell us?"

"...Jill requested that we didn't." Sage muttered, as she glanced away from the group.

Cal swallowed. He remembered the crime scene...likely the only one that ever turned his stomach the wrong way. Then he tried to erase the image of Brick's body out of his head, and he recalled something else. "...the child," he suddenly said. "Did Jill ever have the-"

"Yes," Hunter answered. "Her name's Joy."

"...Joy, huh..." Wiper hummed, as he closed his eyes.

"...that's some name..." Natal mused, as she folded her arms.

"...so, Metal's with Jill, and her daughter, too..." Newt noted.

"...it's good for the two of them I think," Ani said. "Metal's been all alone in the city for five years, and Jill's had it hard..."

"...I can only imagine..." Wiper muttered, as he sighed.

"...I do wonder if they're awake, yet." Sage hummed, as she closed her eyes. "Give me a sec; I'll try to see if Jill's up, yet." she said, as she began focusing, trying to locate Jill's brainwaves. After awhile, she picked up the brainwaves she was looking for; up and about around the downtown area where she lived.

"...ah, she's up and running." Sage hummed, before chuckling.

"Is it just her, or are Joy and Metal up too?" Ani asked.

"...I'd imagine so... give me a sec..." Sage hummed, closing her eyes. "...yep; they're awake, too." she eventually nodded.

"...well, what do you think?" Charmy asked, looking at the Chaotix and Team Alpha. "Would you like to go see her?"

"I don't know Captain," Boomer answered. "I don't want to... overwhelm her you know. You know how emotional Jill is."

"...while that's true Boomer," Ani said. "...Jill's actually gotten quite a bit tougher. You might be surprised."

"...some of us could go and see her." Wiper mused, as he folded his arms. "The rest of us could begin looking into these troublemakers."

"Hm..." Charmy looked at all of them. "Maybe Team Alpha can go visit Jill, while the Chaotix go search for those criminals. Sound good?"

"...sounds good..." Wiper hummed, as he glanced at Rudy. "...but I'd like to see if I can't get more info about those criminals. Rudy could go visit her in my place."

"Okay," Rudy said, nodding.

Ani looked up at the plushie perched on her head. "You want to go with them to see Jill, Tails Doll?" she asked.

_"...yeah, I do!"_ Tails Doll nodded.

"Then I suppose it's settled." Wiper nodded, as he glanced at Newt and Natal. "You guys ready?"

"You bet, Wiper!" Newt nodded.

"Mhm." Natal nodded as well, before she glanced at Cal and Boomer. "You guys'll be okay?"

"Yep," Cal replied.

"Then let's get to work," Boomer said.


	4. Chapter 4

_**5 Years Later – Chapter Four…**_

Walking down the stairs of the building, Metal kept silent, as he was thinking. _...Joy managed to save me from Novagod last night... _he thought, just as he reached the first floor. _...but am I going to be so lucky tonight?_

"Is it time to open shop yet, Mama?" Joy asked happily, following Metal down the stairs with her mother and Snap behind her. Once at the bottom, Joy saw Jill nod, and the 3 year old skipped along to the front window to flip the sign to OPEN.

_"So this is what you do?"_ Snap asked, and Jill nodded.

Glancing around the shop, Metal merely nodded, as he took a look out of the window. "...do people often come here?" he hummed, before he looked at Jill.

Jill had her notepad with her. _It alternates from day-to-day,_ she wrote. _Sometimes we're busy, and sometimes almost no one comes._

"Ah, I see..." Metal hummed, before he glanced back out the window again. "...hm... someone's coming." he mused, as he pulled his hood back on. "Snap, maybe you should put your hood on as well."

As Snap put on his hood, Joy stared blankly at the customer coming toward the building outside. Then she stepped away uneasily, and hurried behind the counter, clutching to Jill's leg for security. Noticing this, Snap looked at Joy worriedly, _"What's wrong?"_

"...it's her, Mama," Joy murmured, not really answering Snap's question entirely.

"...it's who?" Metal uttered, just as the customer entered the shop.

It turned out to be a small, female owl, just a little bit taller than Joy, though her attire of a simple, black dress, along with her absolutely blank expression, gave her a quite intimidating aura, in spite of how she looked. "...hello." she uttered with a small nod, before approaching the counter.

Even Jill was a little shaken seeing this little girl, despite all the scary, horrible things she had seen in her life, but she made sure that no one noticed. Snap, on the other hand, was willing to drop the description of "scary" from Ruki and Sage, and place the title on this girl, while his eyes accidentally captured a photo of her.

As the small owl walked towards the counter, she happened to glance towards Metal, who quickly looked away from her. He didn't know why, but the moment she had looked at him...

...he could have sworn that she smirked.

The others didn't see it, however, as the owl looked up at Jill with a blank face. "...could I have a strawberry shake?" she asked.

Jill swallowed and nodded; somehow, she still had the guts to look directly at her, but she pulled away to get the ice cream and the other dairy products to make it. Joy was shorter than the counter, so she was luckily hidden from this girl, but that still didn't make her any less scared. When Jill pulled away from Joy to make the milkshake, Joy went and clutched to Metal instead.

As she did that, the owl noticed her, slowly looking towards her. "...did you make a new friend, Joy?" she uttered.

"...just who are you...?" Metal uttered, as he looked back at the owl.

However, she only looked back at the counter, not paying Joy or Metal any heed. "...Kiri."

Joy didn't want to be impolite, but she was certainly hesitant in answering her, "...y-yes, I did." Metal could even feel her shivering.

Looking down at Joy, Metal couldn't help but grow concerned. This little girl was not only intimidating him, but also terrifying Joy, with only her very presence. _...what is with that girl...?_ he thought, before looking back at Kiri, who still waited for her shake.

Jill finished making the pink shake with the swirl of whip cream and cherry on top, inserting a straw, and she could only do so much as set it on the counter for Kiri to reach. Reaching up for it, Kiri grabbed it, as she gave Jill a nod. "Thanks." she said, before she began searching her pockets. "...how much will that be?" Jill tried to keep her hand steady as she wrote, but whatever she tried to write was too illegible.

Something Kiri suddenly saw that everyone else didn't though...was that Jill's eyes momentarily flashed red for a moment. All of a sudden, Jill wrote smoothly as ever, and showed Kiri a total of $1.45, while looking at her casually.

Somehow, Kiri began chuckling while she took out the exact amount of change from her pocket, and placed it on the counter. "Thank you." she giggled, before walking out of the shop.

As soon as she left, Metal shook his head, brushing a hand across his head to remove his hood. "...that girl..."

By the time Joy looked back up at Jill, her mother's eyes were green again; leaving that detail unnoticed by anyone. Joy mistook her mother rubbing her head as a means of trying to soothe her uneasiness of Kiri, but in reality, Jill just grew more uneasy about something else.

Every time she saw Kiri, _every time_...Jill had no control over the fact that this frighting little girl drew out the other part of her that she wanted to keep locked away.

"...Jill..." Metal uttered, as he glanced at her. "...just who was that girl?"

Jill wrote down on her notepad: _I don't know her story, but she was already here when I came to Safe Haven._ Then she collected the change on the counter and placed it in the register.

"...is that so..." Metal hummed, as he watched Kiri walk away from the store. _...that girl... I have a bad feeling about her..._

_"...thank goodness she's gone,"_ Snap muttered, taking off his own hood. Then he jumped when a crowd of others started coming toward the store, and he replaced the hood. _"You've got more customers Jill,"_ he said.

As long as it wasn't Kiri, Jill was fine with that. Glancing out the window, her mouth opened in shock. She recognized the people heading toward the store...

"...hm?" Metal blinked, as he looked out of the window as well... and he smiled. "...now that's a surprise."

Soon, the door opened, and in walked Newt, Natal and Rudy, with Tails Doll sitting on the kangaroo's head. "...well, what do ya know." Newt uttered in surprise, looking right at Jill.

"Wow...is that you Jill?" Rudy said in amazement. Last he remembered, Jill was still kind of a teen. Now she was a...woman.

Rudy was so much older than Jill remembered; he sure grew. She was just as amazed as he was at her.

"Who is it, Mama?" Joy asked, reaching over the counter and hoisting herself up barely enough for her little head to poke out.

Blinking, Natal looked at the small girl. "...is that... Joy?"

_"Waaah, she's a lot cuter than I thought!"_ Tails Doll said, as he fluttered towards the small girl. _"Hi! I'm Tails Doll!"_

"...hm..." Metal hummed, as he simply looked at the four.

Joy, again, tried to say the name, but only this came out, "T...Tais-dah..."

_"Eeee! She's too cute!"_ Tails Doll cooed, as he fluttered around the counter.

Giggling, Natal glanced at Joy with a smile. "It's nice to meet you. I'm Natal, and these two are Newt and Rudy." she said, motioning towards the others.

In the meantime, Newt glanced towards Metal, who just looked away from the group.

Joy smiled up at all of them, although instead of trying to pronounce all of their names, she became entranced by the flying doll. Once Tails Doll actually stayed still, she reached out to him. Then she cuddled him. "Mmmm...you're soft," she hummed.

_"Haaa..." _Tails Doll managed to utter. _She thinks I'm soft! That's too cute! _he thought.

Rudy thought this was just utterly adorable, and he was too caught up by that sight that he jumped when he finally realized that Metal Sonic was standing there.

"...Metal..." Newt hummed, as he looked towards the hedgehog, who finally looked at them.

"...it's been a while." Metal said with a nod to them. "...where's Wiper?"

"He's on the island, too." Natal said with a nod. "Along with Boomer, Cal and the Captain."

Jill was surprised to hear that the other Chaotix members were here. It had been a long time since she saw them last; heck, she didn't see any of them since before Joy was even born.

"Hey, where's that robot guy Striker built?" Rudy wondered, and then he saw the short cloaked figure cautiously raise the hood, showing himself. "...whoa...that's nice," Rudy remarked, looking at Snap.

"His name is Smap!" Joy said; still cuddling Tails Doll in her little arms.

"...Smap?" Rudy muttered.

_"It's Snap, actually,"_ the robot corrected sheepishly. _"It's just...she can't quite pronounce it right."_

"No need to hold it against her, of course." Metal chuckled, as he folded his arms.

_"...Smap..."_ Tails Doll hummed, before looking at Joy. _"...then... how do you say Big Bro's name?"_ the plushie inquired, pointing at Metal to emphasize who he was talking about.

"...Metoh," Joy replied, growing very curious about this doll. "Metoh has a wittle brother?"

_"...kinda!"_ Tails Doll said with a small snicker. _"I'm his little brother!"_

"Hm..." Metal chuckled, as he glanced at Natal. "...what brings you here?"

"Well, GUN wanted us to check the place out..." Natal said, before folding her arms. "...but Wiper mostly used it as an excuse to see the other GUN Agents."

"We saw this really...creepy kid walk out of here," Rudy suddenly mentioned. "What was that all about?"

Hearing that, Joy clutched to Tails Doll a bit insecurely. "...Kiri."

"...THAT'S Kiri!" Rudy uttered.

"Y'mean we just walked by one of our targets?" Newt uttered, as he looked back out the door. "...ah, man... but she only seemed to be looking out for small bugs while she was enjoying her milkshake... but she still creeped us out!"

"...she's a strange one, alright..." Metal sighed.

* * *

"Wow little brother, you sure took a beating last night," commented the oldest dog, as the group of them were walking through the woods.

It could go without saying. Duke had been twitching every now and then by the electricity that was somehow trapped in his piercings, and along with some bruises, he had a wad of paper towel up his nose to plug up the blood.

"Yeah... that King really is strong, ain't he?" another dog commented.

At that point, they heard a small girl humming a quite melancholy tune not too far from them.

Duke stopped. "What's that?" he asked, while the other guys started looking around.

"...not sure," the oldest one said. "Sounds like a little girl singing."

"...you guys think we oughta check it out?" one of the dogs uttered, as he glanced around. Intermixed with the singing, they could also hear small giggles every now and then.

"I say we do," The oldest one said, marching off toward where the singing was coming from.

"W-wait, Butch!" Duke called out, but his older brother was down the path already, and he wasn't able to stop him. Sighing, he went after the one called Butch, hoping he wouldn't get into trouble.

Shuddering, the last dog followed the three.

As the dogs followed the singing, they could hear the giggling intermix even more with the singing, until eventually, only giggles remained. Soon, they came to a clearing, where they saw a small owl sitting in the middle of it, with both a small box and a strawberry shake with her.

"...what'cha got there, little girl?" Butch asked. Duke hid behind his brother. He didn't like the feeling he got when he looked at this little girl.

"H-hey, bro, be careful..."

However, the girl didn't seem to notice Butch, as she still kept giggling, taking a sip from her shake. "...itsy bitsy spider went up the water spout..." she eventually uttered, reaching for the box.

Curious, Butch only watched her to see what she was going to do.

"...down came the rain... and washed the spider out..." At that point, the owl opened the box, which contained several spiders crawling inside of it. Giggling, she took one of them, closing the box, before observing it calmly.

"...er... is she alright...?" the youngest dog uttered.

"...but the sun didn't come to dry the rain away..." Then, she began slowly plucking the spider's legs off its body, a look of absolute glee on her face as she did this.

Now this was starting to affect Butch, while his brows arched uneasily. That wasn't right for a kid...

"B-bro...we should leave," Duke whispered, but his warning went unheard.

"...so the itsy bitsy spider..." Then, as the spider only had one last leg, the owl held it over the shake. "...never climbed the spout again." Then, with another giggle, she dropped the spider into the shake, watching it squirm helplessly whilst it slowly sank down below.

Sure, it was just a spider...but the symbolism of it spooked Butch considerably; to a point where he was petrified.

Giggling, the owl then brought the shake to her lips, gulping it all down slowly. Once that was done, she looked down the cup, and now, there was no spider there.

"...I'm sorry..." she giggled, before looking eerily at the dogs. "...but you just missed the show."

Butch could finally move, and the first thing he did was take a step away from her. Somehow though, that was the most movement he was capable of. He couldn't pull his eyes away from this little girl...he was almost afraid to turn his back on her now.

"...did you want to see it again?" the owl giggled, as she stood up, before turning to face Butch. "...or do you want to play with me?"

"...B-Butch. We gotta go." the youngest dog uttered, as he took a step away.

"...m-maybe you can find one of your f-friends to play with, little g-girl," Butch uttered, taking more steps away. "We uh...got stuff to do..."

"But you're new here..." the owl giggled, slowly walking towards Butch. "...and I think Big Brother would like to meet you, too."

"...Big...B-Brother?" Butch uttered, trembling.

"Forget it! Let's get outta here!" Duke wailed, grabbing his brothers and turning quickly.

"Why the rush?"

Duke halted because someone else stood in their way; someone who looked just as creepy as the owl girl. This guy was a black and white leopard, and most of his get-up consisted mainly of black, and some white in some emo-steriotypical style. He eyed the dogs with lifeless, crimson blood eyes, giving the same eerie impression as the little girl that scared them. "We just want to get to know you," he spoke. "I'll even be nice and introduce myself. My name is Diablo."

"...my name's Kiri." the owl giggled, as she picked up the box and walked closer to the dogs. "I hope we can be good friends... don't you, Big Brother?"

"Yes, I hope so too," Diablo answered, inching toward the dogs as well, pretty much cornering them. Or, so they felt. Duke still saw a way out of here, and so he grabbed his brothers again.

"C'mon mates!" he uttered, pulling them in a direction off to the left where Diablo and Kiri weren't blocking.

However, as they tried running, they eventually bumped into someone who blocked their path. "...hm... now, why would you two scare rookies like that?" As it turned out, it was a male pig that the dogs had bumped into; and a severely obese pig at that. Looking down at the dogs, the pig chuckled, taking a bite out of a leg of ham he held in his right hand. "That's not nice... Diablo."

Seeing this pig, Kiri frowned, as she inched towards Diablo.

"We weren't intending to scare them, we were just being welcoming hosts," Diablo answered, glaring at Diablo. "They are just too weak-minded to understand that."

"We t-take offense to that!" Butch uttered.

Chuckling, the pig took another bite of the leg of ham. "Well, you must be partially right. Only idiots would consider being friends with you two."

"...go away, Spiel." Kiri hissed. "Or else, Big Brother will kill you."

"Will he, now?" Spiel chuckled, folding his arms. "Why don't you try it, Diablo? Without your tools, you're nothing special."

"Don't you remember what I was before I came here, Spiel?" Diablo chuckled. "I was an illusionist artist. I don't need my tools..."

The dogs just sort of looked back and forth between them.

"Ooh, I tremble with fear." Spiel chuckled. "...of course, if you're bringing in your tricks, you won't mind my little bro joining in?"

At that point, walking out from behind Spiel was a warthog, who wore feudal armor, along with several scabbards along his hips and back, each of them housing a different sword.

"Krieg just loves a good battle, Diablo." Spiel chuckled. "Especially against someone who uses dirty tricks."

"Is that so?" Diablo chuckled. With his hand, he waved it in a circle and before their very eyes conjured up a golden watch for them to see. "I wonder if he loves this as much as you do," he muttered.

Chuckling, Spiel glanced at Krieg. "Go get 'im."

Nodding, Krieg began walking towards Diablo, brushing past the dogs as if he didn't even notice them.

Diablo's grin just grew, "Kiri, this might get messy."

Nodding, Kiri giggled. "Go get him, Big Brother." she said, moving a bit to the side.

Spiel, in the meantime, continued to chuckle, as he took another bite from his leg of ham. "...mhm... juicy and tender... just the way I like it." he hummed, before looking at the dogs. "Feel up for a show?"

"...uh," Butch uttered, looking up at the pig that towered over them.

"Oh, relax." Spiel chuckled. "I won't hurt ya."

Diablo waited for Kreig to come...then suddenly he was gone.

Seeing Diablo just somehow reappear behind Kreig shocked Duke, "What the bloody hell, mate!" Not only that, but Diablo had somehow managed to steal one of Krieg's swords, and he swung it skillfully in demonstration with a grin.

However, neither Spiel or Krieg seemed moved by Diablo's trick at all, and Spiel took another bite out of his meal whilst Krieg merely grabbed hold of the hilt of one of his swords.

Diablo dangled the golden watch on the tip of the blade, and held it out. "You want this?" he taunted Krieg. "Or are you just fetching it for your older brother? Either way, you'll have to come and get it."

"...I have no interest in it." Krieg uttered, still not looking at Diablo. "And neither does Spiel."

"Alright then," Diablo said, and with a swish, the watch was sliced into pieces. Leaving the watch, Diablo rushed at Krieg then.

In the blink of an eye, however, Krieg had quickly drawn his blade, and blocked the incoming slash, without having moved an inch.

Seeing this, Spiel laughed. "You shouldn't underestimate Krieg, Diablo!" he called. "His skills with the sword are unmatched... of course, being blind helps, too."

"Interesting," Diablo murmured, waving a hand in front of Krieg's eyes to indeed figure that out. He shoved off from the block, and was about to swing the sword again. Then he looked peeved, and perched the sword on his shoulder. "Well...we barely got started and already our audience has deserted us..."

For he just now noticed that the dogs were gone.

"...hmph... how ungrateful." Spiel scoffed, as he finally finished that leg of ham, consuming the very bone as well. "And here I thought of inducting them into my group... now it's not worth it." Scoffing, Spiel began walking off. "Let's go, Krieg."

Before Diablo could react, Krieg quickly snatched back his sword, sheathing it in its scabbard, before following the pig.

"...boring..." Kiri muttered. "...not a drop of blood..."

Diablo watched the hogs leave, still glaring. Then he looked over at Kiri. "C'mon. Maybe we can find someone else to terrorize, hm?" and he spotted the empty cup sitting on the ground. "Well, I see you visited the malt shop again today, Kiri."

"...yes. Joy got herself a new friend." Kiri hummed, before looking up at Diablo with a smile. "...Jill's eyes turned red again, Big Brother."

"Did they now?" Diablo responded, sharing that same smile.

"Yes." Kiri giggled, as she hugged the box full of spiders tightly. "...Big Brother? What do you think the red eyes symbolize?"

"I heard one of those rumors about Jill," Diablo said, taking Kiri's hand and walking her away into the woods. "They say that an evil witch lives inside her…and whenever she looks at you with red eyes, it's her."

"Really?" Kiri giggled, as she closed her eyes. "...I wanna meet that witch, Big Brother." she eventually said. "You, me and her... we'd be best friends forever."

"There could be a way to completely draw her out," Diablo murmured, rubbing his chin. "But until we figure that out, let's go see if we can make some new friends, shall we?"

"...alright, Big Brother." Kiri giggled, as she followed the leopard into the woods...

* * *

"...man... these are GOOD, y'know!" At the malt shop, Newt, Natal and Rudy had all ordered various malts from Jill, each of them enjoying them by the counter. Snap and Tails Doll, both of them obviously incapable of consuming food, simply watched them, whilst Metal simply stood by the window on his own.

"M-hm! Mama makes the best milkshakes," Joy agreed happily; she was still holding onto Tails Doll quite fondly now.

"She certainly does." Natal hummed, as she giggled. "...Newt. Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"I think so, yeah!" Newt chuckled. "You're thinking about what the others are missing, ain't ya?"

"Precisely." Natal giggled in response.

With a small chuckle, Metal glanced away from the group, out of the window_. ...hmm... I do wonder how those guys are doing..._ he thought.

Snap happened to glance at Metal, and then he spotted someone else approaching the shop outside. _"You've got another customer Jill_," he said, while he and Metal pulled their hoods back on.

Jill looked out to see who it was. Then she pinched her eyebrows in irritation.

"What is it Jill?" Rudy asked, noticing her aggravation.

She didn't respond. She just simply glared at the person who finally made it to the door and entered into her shop.

He was a black ox; just a bit more muscular than Newt as well as taller than him, and he had a naturally belligerent look on his face. However, when he saw Jill, a crooked smirk grew on his face.

Jill looked QUITE unhappy seeing this guy.

"...hm?" Humming, Natal glanced at the ox with a blank expression; she really didn't seem that interested in him.

Newt, too, just glanced at the ox with a look of mild surprise.

Likewise, Metal looked at the ox, as he folded his arms. "...you are?" he inquired.

The ox didn't pay much heed to Metal. "Oh…it's Raider," he murmured carelessly, and then returned his attention to Jill, who glared back at him. "…think I could have a chocolate shake, sweet cheeks?" he chuckled in amusement at how annoyed Jill was.

Jill knew he wasn't talking about a milkshake either…

Metal wasn't sure why, but this Raider's attitude was actually getting to him as well; however, he managed to keep it under control.

_"Man, you're big_!" Tails Doll said in awe. _"Did you eat a house, or something?"_

"Well, look at that," Raider laughed, looking down at Tails Doll and Joy. "Sure is a nice toy you got there, Joy."

"…he isn't a toy…" Joy murmured; Raider just looking at her was making her uncomfortable. "…he's my new friend…"

"...you know... that's not very nice, Raider." Metal eventually uttered, as he only looked at the ox. "You never answered his question regarding the house."

Somehow, this comment caused both Newt and Natal to start snickering, both of them trying to stifle it.

"Maybe I did eat a house, who knows," Raider answered, giving Metal a vague glare before returning his eyes to Jill; who tried to ignore him as she was making his milkshake. "There are questions I could ask you stranger, but I decide to keep it to myself," he said without taking his eyes off of Jill.

"Oh, please; don't be afraid of offending me, or anything." Metal said in a disinterested tone, leaning against the wall, as he still kept looking at the ox. _...just what is his deal...?_ He thought to himself.

"Well in that case," Raider said, chuckling. "I'm wondering why you're hiding under that hood of yours. Why hide your face from people?"

"Accident." Metal said with a mild shrug, not even daunted by the question. "Pretty messed up; I don't feel like freaking anyone out."

"Really now?" Raider murmured doubtfully. "You don't seem like the type of guy who'd worry about the opinion of others…even if you "don't feel like freaking people out," or something of that sort."

"Please don't be mean to him, Raider," Joy said; actually having pronounced his name. She wasn't sure if Raider was being mean, but she had seen the things he did to other people before. She didn't want Metal to get hurt…

_"Don't worry, Joy."_ Tails Doll said in a chipper tone. _"Big Bro can handle it."_

"...so I take it that you're quite the people-person, then, Raider?" Metal presumed, still keeping his glance at the ox. "I mean, if you can assume that about someone who just so happens to wear a hood."

"Not only that, but a keen eye for detail," Raider answered, looking back at Jill again, smirking.

Jill felt like that comment was directed at her in some way, and she just tried to continue ignoring him.

That is, until he started speaking to her, "So hot mama…when are you planning to find a daddy for that little girl of yours?"

Then Jill stopped altogether.

At that point, Metal's eyes widened. _...did he just..._ he thought.

"...if you're thinking about trying to score with her, forget it." Natal suddenly spoke up, as she stood up from her seat, shooting Raider a cold glance. "She's way out of your league."

"Even then, that little pumpkin needs a tough man in her life," Raider continued. Right then and there, Jill spun around and slammed a hand on the counter, pointing to the door.

She wanted Raider to leave…NOW.

Raider got that detail, and he only chuckled. "Really now? You want me to leave?" he asked. "I'm sorry, did I offend you?" Then he leaned closer to Jill, getting right in her face with that grin. "Well, why don't you make me, doll?"

Jill's eyes narrowed. That was a challenge she was willing to take. Before anyone had a chance to react, she gripped the counter and flipped over with a kick aimed at Raider's face.

"OOF!" The kick was so powerful, it actually sent him flying through the air, and plowed through the window shattering the glass. Then he landed on the road outside, just in time for Jill to land on her feet on the other side of the counter.

"…whoa…" Rudy uttered. That was pretty amazing.

Needless to say, everyone in the shop was astounded; Metal most of all, since he had literally stood next to the window which Raider had been launched out of. Blinking, he could only glance out of the window to see the ox lying on the ground outside.

"...um... I think you need to fix that window, Jill." Newt uttered in absolute awe.

Jill only walked past Newt, and she just so happened to be holding the chocolate milkshake that she made for Raider. Other solders gathered outside the shop since Raider landing outside attracted attention, and then the attention was pointed to Jill when she came out from the door.

Raider was just in the middle of getting up when Jill made it to him.

Then she turned over the milkshake, dumping it on his head.

The soldiers erupted into laughter. Newt, Natal, and Rudy couldn't keep silent, as both of them broke into laughter as well.

Metal, on the other hand, still remained quiet, as he only looked at Jill. _...good move, Jill. _he thought, as he smiled just a bit.

Raider didn't look too happy about his shake dumped on his head, and the humiliation that came with it, so it was his turn to glare at her, while she was the one smirking at him. Then Jill turned away and sauntered back to her shop, while Raider got up to wipe the gooey mess off and leave the area, with the soldiers roaring even louder.

_"Woo, Jill! You were awesome!"_ Tails Doll cheered, as he clapped as best he could whilst being held by Joy.

"If this was my shop, I'd give ya one on the house for that one, Jill!" Newt laughed, as Natal tried stifling her giggle fits.

Metal, still quiet, only watched Jill approach the shop.

Jill smiled at all of them, bowing her head in thanks as she reentered the shop. Then she glanced at her broken window. Sure, it'll have to be fixed, but it was no problem taking out the remaining glass shards and installing a new window in. And even then, it was worth knocking Raider through it. She had enough of his obnoxious pick-ups, and she wasn't going to let him get away with a crack about being a father to Joy. The last thing Joy needed was influence from..._him._

"...so, that's Raider, huh?" Newt mused, before scoffing. "I don't see what could be so threatenin' about him; he's nothin' but a brute."

"Well, Hunter did say something about him being smart for your average thug..." Natal hummed, as she folded her arms. "...but he certainly didn't show any smarts."

"I'll say," Rudy remarked. "He was pretty insensitive too..."

Jill reached the counter and stopped. Yes, she could agree that he was insensitive. In fact, the reason she had stopped a minute was to keep a hold on how hurt Raider made her feel for saying what he did. After what happened to Brick...how could she possibly be ready for someone else?

Joy could see her mother looked sad, and she grew worried. "Mama, are you okay?"

Jill shook her head with a small smile and waved her hand, gesturing that it was nothing.

Glancing at Jill, Metal raised an eyebrow. Even though he couldn't read minds, he had a feeling that Jill's gestures towards Joy were simply gestures of reassuring. _...would things have been different... if I stayed with them...? _he thought, before looking away with a thoughtful expression, hidden underneath his hood.

Jill wrote something on her notepad and handed it to the nearest person; Snap. Then she went behind the counter and disappeared upstairs. _"...it says she's going to get tape and tissue paper to put over the broken window until she can get it fixed," _Snap spoke.

"...I guess we should probably go find the others," Rudy said, scratching the back of his head.

"Yeah... I wonder if they've gotten any progress done." Natal hummed, as she folded her arms.

_"...are you guys leaving, already?"_ Tails Doll said in disappointment.

"Hey, hopefully we'll stick around long enough to come back here!" Rudy said. "I mean, the Captain and the others have to see Jill and Metal, and meet Joy, right?"

Joy smiled. She liked making new friends, and she really liked these people. Especially Tails Doll, whom she cuddled.

_"...that's good!"_ Tails Doll laughed. _"Then we could all play!"_

"...if you're heading out, you should probably let them know where this place is." Metal said with a slight chuckle. "Just so they won't forget it."

"Oh, we'll definitely tell them about this place," Rudy said, while he, Newt and Natal headed out the door.

_"See you around!"_ Tails Doll said with a wave to them, as the three left.

"...hm." Chuckling, Metal walked towards the counter. "...somehow, I don't think we're going to get bored for a while, Snap."

_"Yeah, there's certainly a lot of interesting stuff going on,"_ Snap agreed. While the idea of fighting for fun baffled him in the beginning, Jill's demonstration was reasonable and impressive. It gave him a new perspective on the way things were run here...

Joy looked between the two of them, and then she walked up to Metal. "...are you going to leave too, Metoh?" she asked. She would surely be disappointed if he were to leave too...

Glancing at Joy, Metal shook his head. "...I'm not going anywhere just yet." he said with a small chuckle.

Joy smiled. "I hope you and Smap and Tais-dah can stay a long time...if you leaved, then I'd miss you..." Snap would've corrected her on her grammar, but then he reminded himself that Joy was only 3.

Metal simply chuckled; while he didn't know how long he'd stay in Safe Haven, there was something about that girl that really made him want to stay longer...

...yet, at the same time, deep inside, he felt that he likely needed to leave... to protect her from what lurked within him.

_"...Big Bro?"_ Tails Doll uttered, as he noticed Metal grow silent_. "...are you alright?"_

"...I'm fine; don't worry." Metal eventually said, as he smiled. "We'll stay for a while; right, Snap?"

Snap smiled, and came over to rub Joy's head. _"Of course we'll stay longer Joy,"_ he said. He wasn't sure how long, but while Metal had whatever personal issues that would cause him to leave, Snap would freely come back here anytime to see her, and Jill as well.

Joy was truly glad to hear that. Then she remembered her mother, "Oh! I got'sa go help Mama!" she said. Releasing Tails Doll, she hurried past the counter and headed upstairs.

Seeing that, Metal chuckled, as he closed his eyes. _...I'll do what I can to keep him at bay..._ he thought. _...so he can't hurt you again... Jill._

_

* * *

_

The hours of the day seemed to pass quickly, reaching the point where the sun was just beginning to set in the horizon. Boomer was pacing back and forth a little impatiently in the orange glow of the slowly ending day. "Well...we've talked to a lot of the solders," she muttered. "And information is good and all...but we haven't gotten to meet any of the people we asked about in person."

"Keep in mind, a lot of them were new recruits," Cal reminded. "Most of them probably didn't really know about the people we asked about."

"But that doesn't mean our search has run dry," Charmy said, hoping to calm Boomer down from her anxious pace. "I'm sure a good deal of them were going through their daily routines that King had set up for them. After all it was the first day; and like the first day of school, the new recruits likely had to learn how to get used to it."

"Yeah...I know," Boomer muttered, but that still didn't stop her pacing back and forth.

"...in any case, the sun's starting to set." Wiper hummed, as he glanced out towards the horizon. "Unless we're planning on staying the night, we should think about returning to the chopper."

"Mmmh... leaving, already? And I was growing so anxious to meet you all..."

Hearing that female voice, Wiper blinked, as he glanced around him. "...you guys heard that, right?" he hummed, looking towards Boomer, Cal and Charmy.

The three of them looked around. "...yeah, I heard that," Boomer answered.

"...who's there?" Wiper uttered, as he let out a hiss.

"Mmh... no need to be so tense. I only wanted to say hello."

At that point, the four saw a female figure approaching them; an octopus, with a very slender figure, even considering that her eight legs were all tentacles. Looking at the four, the octopus took a drag from a long, thin pipe she held between her fingers, breathing out a cloud of smoke.

Boomer rolled her eyes, and she thought dealing with the Commander smoking was bad.

"Excuse me, but who are you?" Cal asked curiously.

"Mmmh..." Humming, the octopus glanced towards Cal, giving him a brief nod. "...my name is Hex."

"Hex?" Wiper uttered, as he folded his arms. "...we've heard a little about you."

"Mmmh... is that right?" Hex mused, as she folded both her arms and two of her tentacles, glancing at the group. "...I see... you must be King's friends from GUN. Are you going to interoggate me?"

"Interrogate is a harsh word," Charmy said. "We prefer the word 'investigate.'"

"And how did you catch word of us?" Boomer asked.

"Mmmh... I have my ways, darlings." Hex hummed, as she approached Boomer and Cal, as one could see a smirk creep across her lips. "But I have made way for questioning, in regards to my schedule... so go on; ask me anything you desire."

Wiper simply looked at Hex, as he folded his arms. _...she's acting far too friendly... she's hiding something. _he thought.

"Okay then," Boomer murmured, feeling a little crept out by the octopus. It was just those tentacles...

"So we hear you're a bit of a trouble maker here?" Cal began.

"Mmmh..." Humming, Hex took another drag from her pipe. "...what sort of trouble are we talking about?"

"Trouble in general." Wiper hissed, as he looked at Hex with a narrowed gaze.

"...mmmh... I won't deny that I may have been a nasty in the past..." Hex hummed, before she blew out a plume of smoke, followed by a chuckle. "...some people on the island would probably even call me a witch. But that is an exaggeration."

_Is it now?_ Boomer thought doubtfully.

"...what things to people accuse you of doing anyway?" Cal wondered.

"...I'd tell you..." Hex began, as both Cal and Boomer felt something crawl up along their shoulders; Hex's tentacles. "...but it is getting late. Why don't you come with me to my private chambers? I'd... love to indulge you further."

"That will be enough, Hex." Wiper suddenly said, quickly coming to Cal and Boomer to remove the tentacles from their bodies as he glared at the octopus. "Just tell us what you've been accused of."

"...mmmh... no nonsense with you, then?" Hex chuckled, sliding a tentacle under his chin, lifting it up. "I like men like you." With another chuckle, she began walking off. "If you wish to question me further... seek me out, darlings."

"...I'm almost afraid to, now," Boomer muttered, once Hex was gone.

"Is it just me...or does she remind you of Callous?" Cal added in disgust.

"...until you mentioned her, I honestly tried to forget Callous." Wiper muttered, as he placed a hand on his abdoment. "Now... I'm not sure if I'll be able to sleep well."

"...sorry about that," Cal muttered.

"Guys!" everybody turned and saw Rudy hopping toward them with Natal and Newt walking behind. Like what the kangaroo used to do when he was younger, he hopped up and down excitedly around them.

"Well now, you look happy Rudy," Charmy chuckled.

"You guys sure missed a lot!" Rudy exclaimed.

"Just what exactly did we miss?" Wiper hummed in a curious tone.

"Well, you missed meeting Jill, for one thing." Natal said with a minor chuckle.

"Obviously." Wiper chuckled as well. "...where's Tails Doll?"

"He stayed behind, y'know." Newt said with a nod. "Little Joy took a liking to him right off the bat!"

"And she's SOOOOOO adorable!" Rudy proclaimed. "Then you missed, like, the BEST milkshakes in the world!"

"Milkshakes huh?" Cal muttered.

"Oh yeah! That's not the best part!" Rudy finally stopped jumping and stood in front of all of them. "We saw two of our targets; that creepy girl, Kiri, and that 'supposedly' smart thug, Raider...creepy girl just walked off, but that Raider guy, oh boy! You shoulda seen what Jill did!"

"Just tell us Rudy," Boomer grumbled, getting impatient at how Rudy was beating around the bush.

"Okay, so Raidier's walking in and he's totally hitting on Jill," Rudy started. "But then he said something about Joy needing a father, and she kicked him out of her shop. I mean, literally, she flipped over the counter and kicked him so hard he broke through her window! Then she dumped his milkshake on his head!" Then he started laughing again at the sheer thought of it.

"It might have been the funniest thing I've seen all year, y'know!" Newt laughed, as he tried calming down.

"...hm." Wiper hummed, as he folded his arms. _...the only ones we haven't seen are Diablo and Spiel..._ he thought, before glancing at Natal. "...oh, yeah, I almost forgot; was Metal there?"

"He was." Natal nodded. "He didn't say too much, though... but the weird thing is, his body has actually changed over the years, almost as if he's aged..."

"Really?" Cal seemed amazed by that. Metal actually aged? Could the organic body he have be really capable of aging?

"I think you guys really need to go see them," Rudy said.

"...hrm... well, I suppose..." Wiper hummed, as he glanced at Boomer, Cal and Charmy. "What do you guys think?"

"It would mean that we would have to stay the night," Boomer said. "Flying through the fog at night is not a good idea."

"I'm up for staying here!" Rudy said, adding another excited hop.

"Yeah, I would like to see them," Charmy said, smiling. "I'm sure King and the others can offer us a place to sleep here without a problem."

"...then I believe it's settled." Wiper nodded, before he looked towards Newt, Natal and Rudy. "While we go and visit Jill, do you three think you can go and tell King that we're staying for tonight?"

"We can do that, y'know!" Newt said with a grin, as he looked at Natal and Rudy. "Let's go and find 'em!"

"Sounds like a plan." Natal nodded.

"Onward!" Rudy said with a point, hopping away to a random direction with Newt and Natal following.

"Wait!" That is, until Cal called to them. "Where can we find them?"

"Oh! The malt shop in town!" Rudy called back, and finally he and the other two could leave.

"...the malt shop huh?" Boomer said thoughtfully.

"Shouldn't be too hard," Charmy said. "After all, how many malt shops can you have on an island?"

* * *

"There we go Mama, all better!"

Joy got done stitching the tape onto the edge of the window, holding that tissue paper in place. Of course, a good portion of it was done by Jill, but her mother was plenty happy with her help, and she rubbed her head lovingly while they looked at the window-er, the tape placed over where the window used to be.

_"Way to go! You fixed the window!"_ Tails Doll cheered, as he looked at the window from the counter, along with Metal, who was sitting on a stool by the counter.

_"I guess it must be time to close the shop too,"_ Snap murmured, sitting beside the other unbroken window. _"The sun's setting outside..."_

"But if we close the shop, then the other people can't come," Joy said. "The other people that Natah, Newt and Rudy telled about!"

Humming, Metal glanced out of the window, just as he noticed someone approaching the shop. "...well, what do you know; there they are." he eventually chuckled.

"Yay!" Joy chirped happily, seeing them outside the window. Yes, it was Cal, Boomer, Wiper and Charmy, heading toward the shop. When Jill saw them, she let up a small smile. At least she was prepared to see them this time, and even then, it was good to see them.

Though they weren't surprised about the window, noticing it was certainly something. "I thought Rudy was just exaggerating," Boomer muttered.

"So, she did smash him through the window..." Wiper hummed, as he folded his arms. "...I have to say, that's impressive."

Charmy chuckled. If Jill could do that, then she definitely changed over the years. He was the first to come to the door and enter inside, and the others followed in. It didn't take long for all of their eyes to fix on the others in the shop.

"...Jill?" Boomer uttered, looking her over. "...is that really you?"

Jill nodded.

"...damn," Cal murmured under his breath to himself, also looking at Jill.

"...hm..." Wiper hummed, as he looked at Jill too, though he masked his surprise better than Cal and Boomer did. "...it's good to see you again, Jill." he eventually said, followed by a hiss.

_"Hi, guys!"_ Tails Doll called, as he perched himself on Metal's head.

"Oh, hey Tails Do-" And Boomer's eyes widened when she turned her head. "...Metal?"

Cal looked over, and shared Boomer's shock. Looking at him, he could see that Metal really DID age; to a young 20s no less. It didn't surprise him that parts of Metal were machine, like the eye and the leg, but the fact that his organic body grew around those parts...

He finally realized he was staring blankly at Metal, so he made a smile.

Seeing that, Metal regarded a nod to the two. "...it's been a while." he said.

"...indeed..." Wiper hummed, as he looked at Metal with an intrigued look.

Boomer felt someone bump her knee, and she peered down, seeing Joy with a friendly smile. "Hi," she said. "My name is Joy and I'm 3 years old. What's your name?"

The duck was frozen for a minute. Hearing that Jill had a kid was astounding, but seeing it for herself was pretty effective. Boomer finally smiled, and knelt down to Joy. "Hi Joy," she said. "My name is Boomer."

"Boomer," Joy smiled. She was able to pronounce the name right.

Cal smiled when he looked at Joy. She really was adorable, like Rudy said. "My name is Cal, Joy," he said.

Joy smiled at him then. "Cal." She would've cheered for herself for getting the next name right.

Charmy really did think she was adorable. In fact, he picked her up and Joy laughed hysterically as Charmy started to tickle her. "My, you're the ticklish one!" Charmy laughed, while Joy squirmed in his hold. Finally, Charmy stopped tickling her so Joy could breath and calm down from her giggling.

"You're funny!" Joy giggled, looking at him.

"Well Joy, my name is Charmy," Charmy said. "But you can call me Captain just like everybody else!"

Joy liked the sound of that. "Capt'n!"

"Thatta girl!" Charmy laughed.

Jill would've giggled if she could. It looked like Charmy liked Joy as much as she liked him.

Glancing at Joy, Wiper couldn't help but smile just a bit. "...it's nice to meet you, Joy." he said. "My name is Wiper."

"Wipa." Joy felt secretly disappointed that she couldn't pronounce his name, but smiled at Wiper like it was nothing.

"Rudy's right; you _are_ adorable," Boomer remarked, smiling. Sure, everyone already thought that, but Boomer felt obligated to voice that thought; after all, it was true.

Cal smiled, because he was thankful that this child survived. After the things he had seen, he had started to loose hope on Jill. Now she had such a lively, precious child to brighten her life, and looking at Jill, he could tell it had played a role in her building strength. The story he heard about Raider concerned him, since it had to do with a father, though Jill didn't look bothered. It was a good change indeed.

Charmy finally put Joy down, and smiled at Jill. "You've got a very friendly little girl here, Jill. She's just like you."

Jill bowed her head in thanks while smiling herself. Charmy just laughed, "Haha, still as polite as always I see."

"Some things just don't change, I see..." Wiper chuckled, as he folded his arms. "...so, running a malt shop, Jill? I suppose we ought to try some." With a nod, he glanced at the others. "What do you guys want? I'll pay for it."

"Is it alright with you Jill?" Boomer asked, and Jill nodded. "Well...I guess I'd like a vanilla shake."

"Nothing for me, thank you," Cal said.

"Whoa!"

Boomer just now saw the last unnoticed one in the shop, and rushed to him with her face right up to Snap. This intimidated Snap, _"Uh!"_

"Are you the robot that Striker built?" Boomer asked in amazement.

Jill became bewildered. She thought that Boomer hated robots; now she seemed to have a great interest in them. She watched Snap nod to Boomer, and she yanked off Snap's cloak entirely, _"Hey!"_ Boomer looked at the entire robot, and seeing the limbs float magically like that really impressed her.

"Wow, Striker built THIS?" she uttered.

"That, he did." Metal said with a nod, as he glanced at Boomer. "I have to say, he impresses even me."

_"Striker's been working on Snap for a while, now!"_ Tails Doll said, as he fluttered around Boomer's head. _"Pretty cool, isn't it?"_

"Yeah, it's awesome!" Boomer exclaimed; showing the same kind of excitement Rudy usually would.

_"Can...I have the cloak back now?"_ Snap uttered uncomfortably. _"I feel kind of naked without it."_

Joy giggled when she heard Snap say that. "He said nakey..." she whispered to Charmy, who chuckled, himself.

"Oh, sure..." Boomer muttered, handing the cloak back to Snap who hurriedly put it back on.

Wiper couldn't help but chuckle as well. "...so, one vanilla shake... I think I'll go with a chocolate shake, myself..." he hummed, before he glanced at Metal. "...what about you?"

Metal blinked at this question, as he looked at Wiper. "...I beg your pardon?"

"...well..." Wiper hummed, as he folded his arms. "...I wondered if you'd want something off the menu, yourself."

Metal could only tilt his head, as he scratched the back of his neck in puzzlement. "...I... don't think I have need for consuming food in general..."

_"But you do have a mouth, Big Bro!"_ Tails Doll said, as he glanced at Metal. _"So technically, it should work, right?"_

Everyone was sort of quiet. Jill herself was quite curious about whether or not Metal could actually consume food; she had never seen him eat. Since she would be the one to make the milkshakes, she waited for Metal's answer.

"You gotta try one Metoh!" Joy encouraged. "They're yummy!"

Looking towards Joy, Metal couldn't help but smile just a bit_. ...well... if it's the first thing I'll ever eat..._ With that thought in mind, he looked towards Jill. "...a strawberry shake, please."

Hearing that, Wiper couldn't help but chuckle, as he began taking out the money he'd have to pay for this.

Jill smiled, and went to work on making a milkshake; one of each of the three flavors.

Meanwhile, Boomer looked back at Snap again. "So what do you do?" she asked.

"_Well…I am capable of combat,"_ Snap said. _"But I can also do this." _His eyes clicked and then he spat out the photo, showing it to Boomer.

"Ah, so that's why you're called Snap," she said, taking the photo. It was of her. Then she frowned as she looked at it. The perspective made her beak look big… "You wouldn't happen to have a photo of Striker and the others, would you?" she asked. After all, it had been awhile since she saw Striker last.

"Of Striker, yes," Snap answered, hacking out another photo; this time, one of the teenage bear.

"Nice, he grew taller," Boomer chuckled, looking at it.

"He certainly did..." Wiper commented, as he looked at the photo as well.

"Can I see?" Joy pestered, pulling on Boomer's leg. Then when she knelt down and showed Joy, she smiled. "Strikoh!"

"_That's the one who built me, Joy,"_ Snap said.

"I hope I can see him too!" Joy said. What Joy said caused everyone to quiet down. Of course Joy didn't know what happened…and they weren't sure if Jill was going to be comfortable enough to see the boys and the Professor.

"…maybe someday," Charmy said, rubbing her head.

"...hm..." Nodding, Metal eventually glanced towards Jill, to see how she reacted to hearing that.

For the most part she kept her attention to making the milkshakes, but Metal was the only one to catch that sad, thoughtful expression on her face.

Seeing that, Metal let out a brief sigh, as he glanced back out of the window. _...it'll be night, soon..._ he thought.

Finally Jill finished making the three, and set the chocolate and vanilla ones on the counter while she personally handed Metal his strawberry shake. As Boomer grabbed her vanilla, Jill wrote down the price on the notepad for Wiper.

As he took his chocolate, Wiper noted the price, before handing Jill just what it cost him.

Holding the strawberry shake, Metal could only look curiously at it. _...I... suppose I just need to jump into it, _he thought, as he moved the cup to his lips, slowly trying a taste of the milkshake.

"…mmmmm," Boomer hummed in delight. "This is really good!"

"...it certainly is." Wiper nodded after tasting his, just as he glanced at Metal.

At this point, Metal removed the cup from his lips, resuming back to simply looking at it. He had no idea what it was, but a sweet sensation had erupted within his mouth as he had consumed the milkshake. He couldn't exactly put his finger on what it was; he merely just observed the cup in slight awe.

_"...Big Bro?"_ Tails Doll uttered, as he glanced curiously at Metal.

"...it's..." Metal began, as he glanced back at Jill. "...sweet." he said bluntly.

Jill made an amused half-smile. The look on his face was interesting to look at.

"Is it good?" Joy asked. She wasn't sure if Metal liked it…all he said was that it was sweet. How was a 3 year old supposed to translate what Metal said anyway?

Blinking, Metal glanced back at Joy, giving her a slight smile. "...it's good." he said with a small nod.

Joy smiled brightly. Jill smiled too while she placed the money in the register.

"The first thing you've ever eaten, and it's a strawberry milkshake," Cal chuckled. "Who knew?"

"...I'm surprised, too." Metal chuckled, as he took another sip of the milkshake_. ...my body doesn't need to be nourished like this... but I can actually enjoy food like anyone else..._ he thought. _...how utterly fascinating..._

The door to the store suddenly opened. "Hunter found room for us in the pub," Rudy started speaking. "We can stay…" then he noticed the most astonishing thing of all; Metal having a milkshake. "…there…" he murmured.

"Rudy! You're back!" Joy laughed, raising her arms happily.

_"Hiya, Rudy!"_ Tails Doll called with a wave to the kangaroo.

"...we'll be able to stay at the pub, now?" Wiper hummed, before he noticed Rudy's expression, which caused him to chuckle. "...surprising, isn't it?" he mused, before glancing back at Metal, who seemed clueless as to why Rudy reacted like that.

"…yeah," Rudy said. "…is that the first thing he's ever eaten?"

"Yep," Boomer answered, sipping her vanilla shake.

"…wow," Rudy muttered.

Metal couldn't help but blink; he hadn't expected to garner this much attention just by drinking some milkshake.

Rudy didn't mean to stare, and he shook away. "Anyway, I'm going to wait down at the pub for you guys," he said, turning out to the door.

"We'll see you later then, Rudy," Cal bid, as Rudy disappeared outside.

Humming, Wiper glanced back at Metal. "...by the way... are you going to stay the night here?" he asked on a whim.

Metal blinked, as he glanced to the side. "...yes." he eventually said with a nod.

Joy smiled at Metal again, glad that he was staying another night, while Jill sort of paused in subtle amazement when she heard that. However, she made sure no one noticed her, so she pulled out a washcloth to clean the counters with.

"So what's the pub like at night?" Cal wondered.

"...I wouldn't know." Metal shrugged, as he looked out of the window. "...I suppose it depends on who decides to visit the place at night."

Jill wrote down something on the notepad and tossed it to Cal as she continued to clean the counter.

_Basically, a lot of rough-housing,_ she had written. _When soldiers get drunk…things get interesting._

"…okay," Cal muttered, bewildered by what she wrote.

"...hm." Humming, Wiper glanced out the window as well, sipping more milkshake. "...I suppose we'll see if that happens when we get there."

Jill finished with the counters, but she couldn't find anything else to occupy herself with. She couldn't exactly start up another conversation either, so she turned and headed upstairs.

"Where is she going?" Cal asked, seeing Jill leave.

"Upstairs," Joy answered quite innocently, not really knowing what Cal meant.

"...hrm..." Wiper hummed, since he had watched Jill leave. "...it is getting late... perhaps she's getting ready to close the shop for the night?"

"That could be," Boomer said, standing up while taking another sip from her milkshake. "Maybe we should head to the pub."

"Maybe we should." Wiper nodded, before he glanced towards Joy. "...I suppose we'll see you tomorrow, Joy." he said with a brief nod to her.

"Mkay!" Joy said, and Charmy rubbed her head, making her giggle.

"See you tomorrow as well, Metal?" Charmy said with a glance toward the hedgehog-metallix, just as the others started leaving out the door.

"...yeah... see you tomorrow." Metal said with a nod to the group.

_"Bye!"_ Tails Doll waved, as he fluttered back towards Joy. _"See you tomorrow!"_

Finally Charmy left with them, and they went down the street toward the direction of the pub. Joy took Tails Doll in her arms again, and walked up toward the counter. Then she noticed something. "Uh oh, Mama forgot her writing thing," she said, pointing to the notepad sitting there.

"...is that so..." Metal hummed, as he glanced at the notepad. After a short while, Metal took hold of it. "...I'll return this to her." he said, before he began walking up the stairs where Jill had gone.

At first, Metal didn't find Jill right away. He went through the front door and upon entering into the living room, she wasn't there. He checked the kitchen; she wasn't there either. _...hrm..._ Humming, Metal began walking through the apartment, until he eventually came across a closed door, presumably leading to Jill's bedroom. _...is she in here...?_ With a mild shrug, he knocked on the door.

It was a minute before the door opened, and Jill peered through the crack just to see who it was. Since it was Metal, she opened the door entirely and then just...went back to her bedroom window.

Blinking, Metal entered the bedroom and approached Jill. "...you forgot your notepad down below." he said, as he handed the notepad over to Jill.

Jill looked, and nodded in thanks while she took it. Then she stared down at it with her head hanging lower. She didn't realize the thoughtful expression on her face started to look a little sad; the same look Metal caught earlier when she was making their milkshakes.

Noticing this, Metal tilted his head. "...there's something on your mind." he presumed.

Jill bit her lip and nodded.

"...would you care to tell me just what's on your mind?" Metal asked after a short while.

Jill stared at the notepad again, probably trying to figure out how to put it in words. _...I guess I could say I don't do well in crowds,_ she finally wrote.

Reading that, Metal frowned. "...I... see..." he muttered, rubbing the back of his neck.

Jill felt like she needed to add to that. _It's just..._ Then she scratched it out and started again. _It's been awhile since I saw everyone, and while I enjoy seeing Joy meet everyone...I feel a little overwhelmed._

"...is that right..." Metal hummed, as he slowly nodded. "...I understand."

Jill tried to smile, hearing him say that. Then the smile just sort of faded to her sad, thoughtful look.

"...Jill..." Metal uttered, as he saw that expression of hers. With a small sigh, he eventually placed a hand on her shoulder. "...don't worry about it." he said with a nod.

This comforted her somewhat, and she tried to smile again; this time, the smile staying much longer than it did the first time. Then it faded again, but she didn't look sad or thoughtful anymore. She just wrote, and then she ripped the paper out and handed it to Metal again before exiting the room, leaving him to read it on his own.

_I guess what really bothered me was that...Joy doesn't even know who her real father is,_ Metal read.

After reading that, Metal glanced towards the door where Jill had gone, before letting out a small sigh. _...if only I could help her in some way... _he thought, as he closed his eyes. _...wait... I think I have an idea... _With that thought in mind, he left the bedroom as well. _It seems that you and I need to talk tonight... Novagod._


	5. Chapter 5

_**5 Years Later – Chapter Five…**_

_Somehow Novagod gained an imagination. I did not enter darkness this time; instead, I entered that foggy swamp, and it was surely heavy with fog..._

_In spite of the change in scenery, I remained calm, as I glanced around the area. "...Novagod, we need to talk." I said, getting straight to the point._

_"We certainly do," The voice replied. Afterward, a black puff of smoke brought forth the vampire and I could see he hadn't changed a bit since I absorbed him all those years ago. Finally, it seemed that Novagod would make an appearance. All those dreams were wasted with him hiding in the dark._

_It wasn't like I was happy to see him though..._

_"...coming to greet me in person? What a rarity." I uttered dryly, before folding his arms. "I'll be perfectly blunt about what I intend to discuss with you... namely, how I'll reclaim Jill's voice from you."_

_"I will still not tell you anything involving that," Novagod answered sternly. "I'd much rather discuss the topic of her daughter..."_

_...was Novagod...showing emotion?_

_I could only blink at this. Apart from a few faint hints of surprise, he had never shown any real hint of emotion before._

_...did Joy really have that much of an impact on him?_

_"...fine, Novagod; I'll bite for now." I muttered; I would still try to pry information regarding Jill's voice from him, but I was interested in seeing just what about Joy made the vampire tick. "Let's talk."_

_"I would hope to know if you have any idea how a mere toddler could brush me off like an insignificant insect," Deity growled._

_"...maybe because to her, you are nothing but an insignificant insect?" I quipped, before I folded my arms._

_"But she is unaware of me entirely..." Deity continued, ignoring my retort. "Her grandmother AND her mother could only do so much as reduce me to...this; yet, that child can..." he looked genuinely frustrated, and he turned away from me, since looking at me was just making him more irritated._

_"...if you honestly expect me to have a theory regarding how she could do that, then forget it." I muttered, as I shook my head. "I honestly have no idea how she could do it... but I'm just thankful that she can do it."_

_"...perhaps...it is _because_ she is unaware of me that she can do it," Novagod suddenly became strangely calm. Then he slowly turned to me with that stoic, lifeless stare; showing no more emotion. "She is a child...so therefore, her innocence makes her entirely pure." I could tell that even if Deity showed no emotion, he gained a strange air of confidence. "...not an ounce of hatred in her to feed on..."_

_"...let me guess. You wish to implant that hatred in her?" I presumed, before I folded my arms, appearing impassive, in spite of being slightly worried by that air of confidence around him. "Again, you can forget it. As long as you're stuck with me, I'll ensure that you won't get anywhere near her."_

_"Maybe I don't have to stretch to such lengths," Deity muttered. "It could very well happen on its own...after all, she is afraid of that other girl; the one they call Kiri..."_

_"...I'm not going to let anything happen to her." I replied, narrowing my gaze. This was getting me nowhere. If I could only get him to tell me a way to reclaim Jill's voice..._

_Deity actually scoffed, and turned away from me. "...It wouldn't surprise me if you happen to become the girl's surrogate father because of all this," he murmured under his breath._

_Hearing that, I blinked. "...just because I ensure that you won't attempt anything with her?"_

_"You claimed that you wouldn't become close to Jillian when you two temporarily allied to defeat Callous," Deity said. "And look where it's gotten you..." _

_Blinking, I glanced away from Deity, seeing his point. "...alright, Novagod; I suppose you've had your fun, talking about this." I said, before quickly looking back at him. "I don't suppose that you'd be willing to discuss a matter I'm interested in, since I discussed something you were interested in? It would only be fair, after all."_

_"...very well," he muttered, turning away from me. "...yes, there is a way...but you could very well be unwilling to do it."_

_"...we'll see about that." I uttered, still looking at Deity. "Tell me... just what do I need to do?"_

_"You will have to find a way to transfer her voice into her throat through the inside," he said bluntly._

_At first, I didn't realize what he meant, as I rubbed my head... when it suddenly dawned on me. "...you're... serious?" I uttered, as I actually stepped back in absolute surprise. He couldn't possibly mean that I had to..._

_Deity remained motionless. "...yes," he answered._

_I was speechless. Was this the only way she'd be able to reclaim her voice? A simple, yet all too powerful gesture? "...there's no other way?" I uttered, hoping that there was, yet still having a feeling that the answer would strike down any hope I had._

_"...there is no other way," Deity confirmed._

_I closed my eyes when he said that, trying to process this information as best I could. There was no other way for her to regain her voice... but I couldn't do that! I could never hope to explain it to her in a rational sense, and there was a chance that even if I went through with it, it wouldn't work the first time._

_At this point, I could only rub my temples in an attempt to calm down._

_"You finally were told what you wished to know," Deity Novagod said, as he vanished within a black puff of smoke. "I will even give you some time to relax, now that you know what you must do..." With that, he was gone._

Slowly, Metal blinked, waking up from that dream. "...mm..." he uttered, slowly sitting up from the couch and rubbing his temples._ ...Novagod... is this some attempt at humor, or is there some other force that decided on that method? _he thought with an irritated scowl on his face.

_"Is...something wrong, Metal?"_ Snap was again, sitting by the window that morning. Obviously, he had seen Metal's irritated look.

"...I just had a nightmare; nothing more..." Metal muttered, as he glanced at Snap. "...Jill and Joy are still asleep, I assume?"

"_Actually, they both went out on an errand,"_ Snap said_. "I guess it was about getting a new window…"_

"...I see..." Metal hummed, as he let out a small sigh. "...what time is it, anyway?"

Snap checked his internal clock within his head. _"It's currently 8:24,"_ he replied.

"...still that early, huh..." Metal mused, before he stood up from the couch. "...Snap. Could you... make me a cup of coffee?"

Snap just stared at Metal in some surprise. It was amazing to see Metal have a milkshake yesterday, so it could go without saying. However, Snap knew better than to sit there and stare, and he stood up to head for the kitchen. _"Sure," _he answered, before disappearing out of the living room.

As Snap left, Metal let out a brief sigh, before he glanced out the window, to see if he couldn't spot any activity outside.

Hardly anyone walked around the streets in the morning. One or two of the soldiers passed by the shop below, and whispered to themselves about the fact that there was no window. Maybe word of what Jill did to Raider spread…

Suddenly, four figures headed toward the shop. Metal could easily recognize the two small figures as Joy holding onto Tails Doll. She really had taken a liking to him. Behind them were Jill, and King. King was carrying, for them, a brand new window.

Seeing that, Metal couldn't help but chuckle, closing his eyes. "...hold the coffee, Snap! I'll be downstairs for a little while!" he called, before he headed towards the door.

"…_okay?"_ answered back Snap's confused voice.

"I'll be up soon." Metal said, leaving the living room, down the stairs, intending to see if he'd get down to the shop before Jill, Joy, King and Tails Doll would reach it.

Outside, Joy was walking down the road with Tails Doll in her arms. Jill watched with a warm heart how much Joy was fond of Tails Doll already, and the plushie didn't seem to mind being hugged all the time.

"Man, those two really hit it off, didn't they?" King chuckled, as he was carrying Jill's window with ease, walking right after her.

Jill nodded in agreement, smiling.

Nodding, King glanced towards the shop. "...you think Metal's woken up, yet?" he hummed.

Jill shrugged. He was still asleep when she and Joy left early this morning, so he could either still be sleeping or up and about around the apartment somewhere…

"Well, guess we'll find out when we get there." King hummed.

Joy was the first to the door, and she and Tails Doll worked together to open it. It was a heavy door for the 3 year old alone, after all. Once they got it open, they kept it open for Jill and King to come in; since King was carrying the window and all.

"Alright... time to get this window in place!" King said with a nod.

"...welcome back." At that point, the group saw Metal walk down from the stairs, just catching Jill and King entering the shop.

"Hi Metoh!" Joy said, waving.

Jill sent a greeting smile. So Metal was awake after all…

"Well, look who's up and running." King chuckled. "Sleep well?"

"...you could say that." Metal replied with a simple shrug, before he glanced at the window King held. "...do you need some help with that?"

"Metoh can help, Mama!" Joy chimed.

Jill nodded, smiling down at Joy. Then she went over to peel some of the tape off of the paper around where the window used to be.

"Well, two guys work better than just one, I suppose." King chuckled, as Metal walked over to help him hold the window, whilst Jill removed the tape.

"...have any of the others woken up, yet?" Metal hummed, as he glanced at the tiger.

"Queen and Sage got up early today, but the others are still snoozing." King shrugged. "As for the guys sleeping at the pub, I'm not sure. I think Ani might be up by now, though..."

Jill finally yanked all of the paper off, and she had to double check to make sure there weren't any glass shards still around. She made sure to thoroughly sweep any pieces that might have been lying around, so no one would cut themselves; especially Joy.

"Okay then, let's just put this in," King said, as he and Metal approached the window, both of them taking their time as they got the new window in place.

Jill momentarily left, and returned with something twirling in her hand like Lock the Sniper would with his revolvers. When it stopped, they saw that it was a power drill in her hand, and in her other hand, she had some screws.

She went up to the window that King and Metal held in place and started drilling in the screws in particular spots, just so the window could stay.

"Good going, Jill!" King laughed. "The next time you knock Raider through a window because he acted up, just give me a call, and I'll have the shop send him the tab instead."

Jill shot a smirk at King for saying that, and Metal couldn't help but chuckle at that quip, before he glanced at Jill. She just headed out of the room to return the drill where she got it; not having noticed Metal look at her at all. King, however, did notice, along with the fact that Metal didn't take his eyes off her as she walked off.

"...hey, you still awake?" he inquired, tapping Metal's head.

That got Metal's attention away from Jill, as he glanced at King. "Yeah... I'm still awake." he said with a nod.

"Something wrong, Metoh?" Joy asked. For a 3 year old, she was somehow observant.

"It's nothing..." Metal hummed, as he glanced at Joy. "...just had a strange dream while I was asleep."

_"What kinda dream, Big Bro?"_ Tails Doll hummed.

"...it was just strange; I'm not sure what it was about." Metal replied with a small shrug.

"It wasn't a bad dream, was it?" Joy asked.

Glancing back at Joy, Metal shook his head with a small smile. "It wasn't a bad dream... it was just weird."

_"...maybe you had too much milkshake before you went to bed, Big Bro?"_ Tails Doll presumed.

"Wait, Metal had a milkshake?" King uttered, as he looked from Tails Doll to Metal with a dumbfounded look.

"M-hm! And he liked it!" Joy answered King, just in time for Jill to return into the shop.

"...really..." King hummed, as he glanced at Metal, who simply nodded back at him. "...man, I didn't know you could do that!"

"Until that milkshake, neither did I." Metal chuckled.

Jill smiled, and would've chuckled if she could. It sounded like they were talking about yesterday, yet somehow Jill thought that Rudy or Wiper would've told the others about it. Could be that they never got the chance…or it slipped their mind.

Anyhow, Jill reached over and shook King's hand, thanking him for his help with the window.

"Not a problem, Jill!" King laughed, shaking Jill's hand, and then moving towards the door. "If you'll excuse me, I've gotta meet up with Sage and have her do a background check on some of the new guys; with Wiper and the others coming in yesterday, I never got the chance to ask her!"

Just as he was about to leave through the door, however, someone from the outside opened it, and it turned out to be Krieg, still wearing his feudal armor, but now he only carried one sword on his back. "...didn't expect to hear you, King." the warthog hummed.

Joy gasped at the sight of Krieg, and ran around to hide behind Metal again. She was also afraid of him, as well as Kiri; not to mention both of their "older brothers."

Jill just went ahead behind the counter, figuring that Krieg was a customer.

"...Krieg." King uttered, only looking at the warthog. "...where's your boss?"

"...don't call Spiel 'boss', King." Krieg muttered, while he walked past King into the shop. "After all, you're the only boss on this island."

Seeing this warthog slowly approach the counter, Metal folded his arms, raising an eyebrow. _...what is with him?_ he thought.

Jill looked up at Krieg from behind the counter, wondering if he wanted anything.

Carefully placing one hand on the counter, Krieg glanced upwards, believing that he looked at Jill, even if she didn't stand in his field of vision. "...could I have one vanilla shake?" he inquired.

Jill nodded, and then forgot that he couldn't quite see, but she went off to make his milkshake anyhow. A blind person talking to a mute was interesting indeed…

Finally, Metal's curiosity got the better of him, as he cautiously approached the warthog, lightly tapping his shoulder. "...excuse me..."

"...hn?" Quickly glancing towards where Metal's voice had come from, Krieg seemed to look right at the hedgehog, which made him step back a bit. "...someone new?" he uttered.

"His name's Metal, Krieg." King said, as he stood by the doorway, keeping an eye on the warthog. "He's a friend of Jill's."

"...I see..." Humming, Krieg nodded, before turning his head away from Metal. "...is he a friend of Joy, too?"

"…m-hm," Joy answered hesitantly, still hiding behind Metal.

"...I see..." Krieg hummed, still looking ahead of him. "...welcome to Safe Haven, Metal. You can call me Krieg." he eventually said.

"...very well..." Metal hummed, as he glanced towards Jill.

Jill was done, and she passed Krieg the milkshake. As for price…well, she wasn't sure. Sometimes Krieg had the money; other times, it was just put on a tab for Spiel to pay later on.

"...Jill." Krieg eventually uttered, cautiously managing to grab his milkshake before he placed some money on the counter. "I heard what you did to Raider yesterday." he began, and actually smiled. "Good going. Someone needed to shut him up, for once."

Jill sort of smiled, although Krieg's company was hard to be around. While he was plenty intimidating and capable of many things, he was someone who rarely disrespected her; it went either way. With that, she took the money Krieg dropped on the counter and went to place it into the register.

"...thanks for the shake." Krieg eventually said, before he headed for the door, which King had been holding open all this while. With a wave to the people in the shop, he walked off.

"...Krieg..." Metal hummed.

"...that would be Spiel's right-hand man." King muttered, as he closed the door. "He arrived last year, and his talents were recognized by Spiel almost instantly. I don't know why, but he keeps standing by that pig's side..."

"...who is this Spiel, anyway?" Metal hummed, as he glanced back at Joy, to see if she was still scared. Joy wasn't scared anymore, but she sort of forgot to let go of Metal's cloak since she was still clutching to it.

"Spiel's…a scary, big guy," she said, looking up at Metal.

"...scary, big guy..." Metal repeated, before he looked back at King.

"He may act friendly," King began, as he folded his arms, "but he's one guy you'd be better off not getting close to, Metal."

"He pretends to be your friend…but then if he doesn't like you anymore, then…" Joy heard stuff that the other solders said about him, and that made her shudder. Jill came around from behind the counter in concern, and knelt down to hug Joy to comfort her.

Looking down at Joy, Metal couldn't help but frown. To think that someone like that was on the island...

_...don't tell me that I was like that, all those years ago...?_ he thought.

Joy felt better after cuddling with her mother, and she pulled away to go hold Tails Doll again.

A sudden knocking on the window drew everyone's attention. Outside stood a female linx with short, ragged ginger-colored hair, wearing barely anything but two maroon-colored wraps; one for the upper body, and the other like a short skirt tied up to the side. Age-wise, she looked fairly young and quite fit as well, but she was actually in her late 30s. Her blue eyes were looking right at King.

The moment he saw the lynx, King visibly panicked, something which surprised Metal. "...you know her?"

"Oh, her?" King chuckled, looking back at Metal with a nervous look. "That's Tasha; friend of mine. Excuse me, I think she wants to talk to me 'bout something..." With a nervous laugh, King headed outside.

Metal could only blink, as he glanced back at this Tasha. _...what kind of person could make King panic like that?_ he thought. Even Jill hadn't seen this linx before, sharing Metal's astonishment at how King reacted to seeing her.

Once King was outside, the linx introduced as Tasha brushed her hair back awkwardly. "Forgive me...I didn't mean to bother you while you were on whatever personal business you had," she murmured.

"Ah- don't worry about that, Tasha; I was just about done, anyway." King said with an awkward chuckle, rubbing the back of his head. "So, um... do you need some help with something?"

"There's a situation going on in the jungle," Tasha said, straightening up. "It... worried me, so I came to get you."

"...why? What's up?" King hummed, folding his arms. "Is Hex pulling some of her tricks again?"

"...yes," Tasha muttered. "She has decided to prowl on one of my people...and the others in the tribe don't like it very much."

"...tsch... should've known..." King grunted, as he rubbed the back of his head. "...if we're dealing with Hex, we'll need some backup; and by backup, I mean Queen. Let's go, Tasha!" he said with a nod, before he began heading in one direction, motioning for the lynx to follow him. Tasha followed obediently in silence, moving quickly to keep up with him.

Watching the two leave, Metal could only blink. "...strange... wonder where they're going." he hummed.

"I never seened that person before," Joy said, and she looked up to her mother. "Mama, do you know who that is?" Jill only shrugged.

* * *

"I thought we told you to stay off our territory!" yelled an angry male jaguar.

"Mmmh... don't raise your voice like that." Looking back at this jaguar was Hex, who looked exceptionally calm whilst looking back at the cat. "I only came here to seek entertainment; is that such a crime?" she inquired, before taking a drag from her pipe.

Basically, Hex was confronted in the jungle by an angry mob of many different Mobian jungle cats; all of their attire consisting of simple wraps and loincloths. It wasn't just on the ground either; some of them hung from the trees above. All of them were lined up, almost as if to keep Hex from trespassing any further that direction.

"It is a crime because it violates our treaty with Safe Haven," the same jaguar growled.

"...mmmh... I can't seem to recall ever agreeing to any treaty." Hex hummed, as she glanced at a different jungle cat. "...there's no need to be hostile, darlings."

"You must be one of the soldiers then...but I must say that you don't appear to be a warrior of any type." An gruff, wise voice spoke, and the jungle cats stepped aside. A very old male linx stepped forward, bearing a scruffy gray beard, and even though he was very old, he was still very capable of walking on his own; in fact, he looked like he was still the strongest one out of the entire tribe, with such a magnificent build that just barely beat King's.

"Just what is your idea of entertainment, if it brings you here?" the old linx questioned suspiciously.

"Mmmh..." One could see that Hex just shivered in excitement at that thought. "...now there's a question for the ages." Then, she glanced at one of the jungle cats with a sultry look. "...surely you all know it as well; the basic instinct that our bodies crave no matter what..." Then, she shivered again. "Mmmh... the very thought is mesmerizing..."

The jungle cat she looked at was hit with a daze about what she was talking about. Not to mention the look she was giving him.

The old linx shook his head. "Listen ma'am, I suggest you look elsewhere for your fun...I don't appreciate one of Safe Haven mingling with a tribal member." Then an irritated look came on his face while thinking of two others in his head that this applied to.

"Mmmh... spoilsport, are we?" Hex hummed, as she shook her head. "How sad."

"Alright, Hex, that's enough." Before the octopus knew it, someone suddenly grabbed her shoulder, pulling her back. "Our apologies, Chieftain." Queen said with a sigh, being the one pulling Hex away, over to where King and Tasha stood.

"Queen," The old linx, that she regarded as the Chieftain, said, nodding to her. Then he just stared at the other two. "Tasha...King." Just the two he was thinking of earlier...

"...father," Tasha muttered. "I was worried...so I summoned them."

"...I understand," the old linx responded, looking at his daughter with the same blue eyes.

"...sorry about this." King muttered, as he gave Hex a glare, even though the octopus pretended not to notice. "I've told all the soldiers of Safe Haven that the jungle is off-limits... but someone doesn't seem to want to follow the rules."

"I was merely curious." Hex scoffed.

"...in any case..." Queen said, as she tightened her grip on Hex's shoulders. "...this will not happen again."

"Let's see that it doesn't," the Chieftain said, and with that, the tribe turned and began leaving. "Tasha," he said.

"Yes father?" Tasha responded.

The Chieftain gave her a long stare, and then he started to leave himself. "See to it that they return to their territory unharmed...and stay there to be my eyes, monitoring, in case others get an idea to break the rules."

Tasha was surprised that her father was going to allow her on Safe Haven territory. Wasn't she previously forbidden to cross there? What would change her father's mind like that?

"...mmmh... how interesting..." Hex eventually chuckled. "...who knew that there were others on the island aside from us?"

"Be silent, Hex." Queen uttered, as she glared at the octopus. "You knew fully well that it's forbidden to enter the jungle, and you still went against King's word."

"Mmmh... lighten up, darling." Hex hummed, glancing at Queen. "You seem so... tense."

"...let's just go." King muttered, as Queen began pulling Hex away again. Before he began walking, however, King glanced towards Tasha. "...something on your mind?" he hummed.

"Oh," Tasha was snapped out of it, looking at King for a minute. "...it's nothing," she finally said, walking after Queen and Hex.

Nodding, King walked after Tasha, though not before glancing back at the jungle.

"...it's..." Tasha tried to start up conversation. "...been a few years, hasn't it Twi... King?"

"...a couple, yeah." King hummed, as he rubbed the back of his neck. "...you've been well, haven't you?"

"...yes," Tasha nodded. She would've asked the same, but she could already see the answer. King looked more built than the last time she recalled seeing him, and before she knew it, she was examining each detail of him carefully. His broad shoulders, those strong arms, the six-pack that was presumably underneath that shirt-then she quickly pulled her eyes away in embarrassment at what she was doing. "...I see you are looking well, yourself," she uttered.

"Hn? Oh..." Nodding, King couldn't help but laugh awkwardly, glancing away from Tasha. "...well... looks like you'll be staying over at Safe Haven for a while." he mused.

"...I suppose so," Tasha murmured, smiling about that. Even if she questioned her father's reasons...she was glad that she was allowed on Safe Haven territory for once.

"...well, when we get there, there might be a few soldiers who'll try hitting on ya; rudely, to boot." King said, as he scratched the back of his neck. "The best thing to do is to ignore them, but if that doesn't work, don't be afraid to knock some sense into them."

"Duly noted," Tasha said, giggling.

Hearing her giggle, King couldn't help but chuckle as well.

"Oh!" Tasha stopped giggling when she noticed that Queen and Hex were up too far ahead. "We'd better catch up with them," she murmured sheepishly, quickening her walking pace.

"Uh, yeah!" Nodding, King walked after Tasha as well. _...man... she's really staying over at Safe Haven..._ he thought. _...wonder where she's gonna sleep until- Wait, hang on, bad thoughts! Don't go there!_ Shaking his head after thinking that, he upped the pace with a flustered look on his face.

* * *

Over in the pub, Wiper blinked, as he slowly woke up. _...morning, already...?_ he thought.

A knocking made perfect timing on the door when Wiper started waking up. "Wiper, you awake?" called in Ani's voice.

Wiper blinked, glancing at the door and then nodding. "...yes, I am." he replied.

"Okay then," Ani spoke. "I have breakfast ready if you're hungry..." and some footsteps faded away, presuming that Ani had walked off.

Rubbing his eyes, Wiper got up from his bed, before walking to the door with a slight yawn. _...wonder if the others are awake, yet... _he thought.

Just as Wiper opened the door, the door across the hallway before him opened simultaneously, and Cal stepped out. "Ah..." the monkey yawned, noticing Wiper. "Morning Wiper..."

"...good morning, Cal..." Wiper hummed, as he glanced down the other hallways. "...do you know if the others are up, yet?"

"Natal got up, awhile ago," Cal answered. "I heard other footsteps down the hall as well. Maybe one or two are still asleep, but I'm detecting everybody else in the bar." With another yawn, Cal turned down the hall. "Probably because Ani's got breakfast there..."

"...I see..." Wiper nodded, as he closed his bedroom door, before following Cal. "...I know that this is a personal question, but... how are things between you and Natal?" he hummed, if only to strike up a conversation.

"...fairly well," Cal answered, trying to pretend he wasn't uncomfortable about talking about this. "I mean, we've been together for awhile...and I suppose Boomer and Newt finally got used to the idea, so...no harm done there." Yes, it took Boomer at least 3 and a half of the 5 years to finally warm up to him. Course, almost being killed was a good reason to hold a grudge...

"...I see." Wiper hummed, as he let out a small sigh, glancing up at the ceiling.

Cal noticed his rather depressed response. "Is something bothering you, Wiper?" he asked.

Blinking, Wiper quickly shook his head. "...no, it's nothing." he replied, before rubbing the back of his head. "...let's see what Ani decided to cook up for us."

Passing through the butler door into the diner/bar, Ani tossed a couple plates down the counter for some of the other GUN agents. "Hotcakes! Get'cha hotcakes!" Ani exclaimed cheerfully.

"Now this seems tasty." Natal hummed, as she glanced over at Newt, who looked down at his plate with a hungry look. "...I suppose he agrees." she giggled.

Boomer laughed while seeing the look on Newt's face. "You have to teach me how to cook like that Ani," she chuckled. "I can't seem to get that look whenever I make something."

"Well, you _are_ more a weapon specialist than a chief, Boomer," Cal remarked, taking a seat beside Natal.

With a silent nod, Wiper took a seat by Boomer.

With a small giggle, Natal glanced at Ani. "...may we dig in?"

"Course you can," Ani said, laughing. "It's not like there's a buzzer to start the race or anything. Enjoy!"

The moment she said that, Newt immediately began eating his portion, which slightly startled Wiper; likely since he was still a bit tired.

Natal could only giggle at this, before she began eating as well. "...mm... this is delicious!" she eventually said.

"You're telling me!" Newt chimed in after a while.

Ani just laughed.

"Well now, seems some of you already beat me to it," Charmy chuckled, suddenly being the next one into the room.

"Don't worry Captain, I had a plate ready for you too," Ani said, placing the said plate at the spot that Charmy seated down at. The Ani looked around. "Rudy still asleep?" she assumed.

"You know how he is," Charmy said with a shrug, picking up a fork to begin eating.

Ani set down the frying pan, and looked annoyed. "...come to think of it, my Dad isn't up either," she murmured. She whisked away from behind the counter and disappeared through a door. "I'm going to get his lazy butt up. Just because he's manager of the place doesn't mean he can lounge around..." And she was gone.

Watching Ani leave, Wiper let out a small sigh. "...hm."

"...something on your mind, Wiper?" Natal hummed, as she glanced at the cobra with a raised eyebrow.

"...no." Wiper replied bluntly, as he began eating.

Charmy started to grow interested about the way Wiper behaved, but he made sure it wasn't apparent just yet. Then he finally said something after swallowing pancake. "Well...you seem to be sighing an awful lot, Wiper," he mentioned.

"...is that so?" Wiper hummed, without glancing towards the bee. "I hadn't noticed."

Charmy chuckled. "'De-nial' is not just a river, old sport. You can always tell us if something's bothering yo-"

"AAAAGH!" A scream interrupted Charmy, and Hunter burst through the butler doors, landing with a face-plant to the ground. Everyone became awkwardly silent, looking at this. Ani walked through the door, dusting her hands off with satisfaction.

"Wow! That was awesome!" laughed someone behind her, whom turned out to be Rudy.

Ani polished off her nails on her shirt proudly. "Yep. Nothing like a nice wake-up call to start the day right..."

"Easy for you to say," Hunter groaned, getting off the ground.

"That was... interesting," Boomer managed to say.

"That, and... right outta left field, y'know." Newt chimed in.

Thankful that the distraction seemed to disrupt the conversation, Wiper resumed eating.

"...ugh," Hunter grumbled, taking a stool while Ani placed a plate down for him, and another for Rudy who eagerly began eating. "...anyhow, good morning everybody," Hunter greeted. "How did you all sleep?"

"Just fine," Boomer answered. "Thanks for asking."

"Can't complain." Natal hummed with a nod to Hunter.

"Yeah; we slept like logs, all of us!" Newt chimed in as well.

"That's good," Hunter murmured, finally starting to eat his pancakes.

Charmy chuckled, and returned to his own breakfast. "...I'm afraid you didn't answer my question, Wiper," he suddenly said; somehow, he felt like he shouldn't let it go so easily.

This perked up Hunter's curiosity. "What's going on?" he muttered.

"Nothing's going on." Wiper said with a mild shrug. "I'm just thinking, is all."

"...but if you're thinking, doesn't that mean that you got something on your mind?" Newt hummed.

"Ah, correct you are, Newt," Charmy chuckled amusingly.

"C'mon guys, quit harassing Wiper," Boomer muttered. "It's only breakfast..."

Charmy was secretly disappointed that Boomer intervened, but he said no more, concentraiting on his breakfast.

"I thought King would be here this morning," Hunter started on, biting onto the pancake on his fork.

"He went to get Jill's new window," Ani said, picking up a plate of breakfast for herself so that she could eat breakfast. At the mention of that, Rudy's snickers burst out into laughter. "Oh, you still find yesterday funny, huh?" Ani asked him.

"You shoulda seen the look on his face Ani!" Rudy laughed. "His eyes were as wide as melons when Jill kicked him through the window! Ahaha!"

"Yeah, it was still a riot to watch!" Newt said with a grin. "You guys should've been there!"

Glancing at the group, Wiper merely let out a small chuckle, returning to his meal.

Just then, the door opened. "Hiya, Ani! Got breakfast ready, already?" a female voice called, as Sonia walked into the pub.

Hunter jerked when he heard that voice, and he tried to calm himself to remain inconspicuous. Charmy already noticed though, but he kept that silent, mental note to himself as he took a sip of coffee.

"Would you like some, Sonia?" Ani offered.

"Well, I wouldn't say no to that!" Sonia said, while she grabbed a seat and took a look at the others by the counter. When her eyes fell on Wiper, however, she blinked. Ani went to work making more, and Hunter tried to keep his attention pointed away from Sonia, so neither of them noticed. Charmy glanced over and observed this, and he couldn't help but grow more interested.

"...so, Hunter!" Sonia eventually said, turning away from Wiper. "Can't say I've seen these guys before. Friends of yours?"

Hunter sort of jumped when she talked to him, but he gathered the courage to look back at her with a straight face. "...yeah, they are," he answered. "They work for GUN, but we've known them for a few years."

"I'm Captain Charmy of the Chaotix unit," The old bee added, regarding a nod of greeting to the female rattlesnake. "Rudy here is one of mine."

"Hi!" Rudy leaned over the counter to see Sonia and give her a wave.

Boomer smiled at Rudy's enthusiasm. "I'm Boomer. I'm also a Chaotix member."

"Cal," the monkey answered quietly, taking another bite of pancake.

Glancing at Sonia, Natal smiled. "I'm Natal, of Team Alpha. Nice to meet you."

"I'm Newt!" Newt said with a nod to the rattlesnake.

Grinning, Sonia nodded to the group. "It's nice to meet you guys! Call me Sonia." she said, before glancing over at Wiper, who still hadn't said anything. "...what about him?"

"...Wiper." Wiper eventually said.

"Wiper's a long time friend of mine and King's," Hunter said. "We've known him since he was a little guy." If Hunter could just direct her attention away from himself, then he would be fine. Charmy thought this was an interesting tactic, and waited to see how it would play out.

"...little guy, huh?" Sonia hummed, looking at Wiper curiously. "...how little was he, then?"

"...six years old." Wiper replied, shooting Sonia a glance.

"...and... how old are you now?" Sonia hummed.

"...26 years old." Wiper replied.

"...so you've known King and the others for 20 years, huh?" Sonia hummed, as she rested her head on her hands, just looking at Wiper.

Hunter ate his pancakes in relaxed peace, while Charmy kept watching; a smile slowly growing on his face.

"...so..." Sonia hummed, her head tilting. "...what're you guys doing here on the island?"

"...GUN sent us here to look into some of the more notorious soldiers here." Wiper replied. "It got too dark for us to leave, so we got to sleep here for the night."

"Is that right..." Sonia mused. "...well, if you don't have anything special on your agenda... maybe..." For a moment, she paused, as she tried figuring out just what to say.

Just then, Ani slipped her a plate of food. "There you go, Sonia," she said. She didn't mean to interrupt what was going on, but she knew that she couldn't keep food waiting or it would get cold.

"Hn? Oh, thanks, Ani!" Sonia said with an awkward smile, before she began eating.

Wiper, still, simply glanced at her. "...maybe...?" he uttered, waiting to see if she was going to finish her question.

"...well..." Sonia began, looking back at Wiper. "...if you got nothing better to do... I could show you guys around the place?"

Rudy was about to say that they already got a tour of the island, but Charmy stopped him from uttering anything that would ruin this and that's when Ani noticed that familiar grin on Charmy. No one else felt like they had the right to answer this one either...

Wiper blinked, before he glanced back down at his plate. "...I suppose..." he muttered.

"...great!" Sonia said, before she realized that she was acting a bit too excited over that answer. "I mean, uh... glad to hear it. I'll show you about when you're ready." Nodding, Sonia returned to eating, an awkward smile on her lips.

Both Newt and Natal blinked, as they glanced from Wiper to Sonia a few times.

Charmy's grin grew, and finally, he shared a glance with Ani that triggered the same grin in her. They knew what was going on here...not only that, but they knew what needed to be done about it too.

"Hey Sonia, did you hear what happened to Raider yesterday?" Rudy blurted excitedly, abruptly changing the subject.

Blinking, Sonia glanced at Rudy. "...I don't think I did, no. I was knocked out for a long while, yesterday, though... what happened to him?"

Boomer rolled her eyes. "Didn't think he'd be THAT obsessed over it." Then she chuckled. "Well, he says that Raider said something that got on Jill's nerves badly enough that she actually kicked him through one of the windows in her shop."

"And then she dumped his milkshake on his head!" Rudy finished, beaming.

Hearing that, Sonia grinned. "That's my girl, alright! Man, I wish I could've seen that..."

"Believe me; if I could've taped that, I would have taped it, y'know!" Newt said with a chuckle.

"...I'm not sure if that sort of thing is a good idea for Joy to see," Cal commented, just finishing his breakfast. "She might learn to copy that kind of behavior." And if Brick's genes would have anything to do with it...

"Nah, Joy'd never do that!" Sonia said with a chuckle. "She's too sweet to indulge in that kind of behavior."

Glancing at Sonia after that comment, Wiper eventually looked back down at his plate. _...children could do anything, given the right circumstances..._ he thought; he found it wiser not to say that out loud.

"All I'm saying is that...Jill should be more careful about protecting Joy from some things," Cal muttered, growing a bit serious.

Boomer knew where his mind was heading, and she shook her head. "Cal, don't think so much about that. Just relax..."

Natal glanced at Cal. "Yeah... relax, Cal." she said with a slight nod.

Blinking, Sonia looked back at her plate, and then resumed eating.

* * *

Snap and Joy had preoccupied themselves with a clapping game in the living room, and Joy was having a ball with it; giggling loudly every now and then. Sitting on the couch, both Metal and Tails Doll simply observed this clapping game; Tails Doll with extreme intrigue, and Metal with mild amusement. Joy missed a beat and tried to hold her giggles in with her hands, but had a tough time. "You're fast!" she said.

_"Yeah...I suppose my reflexes are a lot faster than yours,"_ Snap chuckled sheepishly.

Watching the two, Metal folded his arms, smiling just a bit. _...they're certainly getting into it..._ he thought.

_"Man, this is awesome!" _Tails Doll said, as he glanced at Metal. _"Big Bro, do you wanna play, too?"_

Blinking, Metal glanced back at Tails Doll with a puzzled look.

Joy liked that idea, and she raised her hands toward Metal from where she sat on the floor. "Come and play Metoh!" she insisted.

Looking back down at Joy, Metal blinked, before eventually shrugging. "...I suppose." he hummed, before he sat down on the floor in front of Joy, holding his hands out. _...wait... how am I supposed to do this? _he thought, though he kept a neutral look on his face, waiting to see if Joy or Snap would show him how to play.

Snap somehow understood his predicament. _"Just do what I do,"_ he said to Metal, and he and Joy started it. The clap game seemed to be made up of nothing more than a certain rhythm of patting knees, clapping their own hands, and then clapping each other's hands. Catchy it was, it looked like something that would take some practice before anyone got the full concept of it.

Then it was done, and Joy raised her hands toward Metal. "You try!" she said.

"...okay..." Nodding, Metal slowly began following the same rhythm as Snap and Joy had gone through, focusing on not being thrown out of the loop.

Gradually, this clap game took its toll on time, and the longer they played, the faster and easier the rhythm became for Metal. It got too fast for Joy finally, and when she slipped, she started giggling again. "This is fun!"

Metal, too, couldn't help but chuckle. "It really is." he said. "Think we can go faster?"

"Let's try!" Joy said, getting her hands ready. Then she stopped, and everybody suddenly heard a rhythm beating against the wall somewhere else in the apartment. This was one different than the clap game, and it was more precise in its timing.

Once it finished, Joy's head turned down the hall. "...Mama needs somethin," she murmured, getting up and trotting down the hall.

Metal blinked, watching Joy leave. _...what could she want?_ he thought.

_"Hrm... I hope Joy gets back, soon."_ Tails Doll hummed, as he perched himself on Snap's head.

_"It probably won't take long,"_ Snap said. Then the three of them saw Joy pass the hall again; carrying a towel with her this time. Curious, Snap called to her, _"What's that for?"_

"Mama took a shower," Joy said, and disappeared down the hall with it.

_"...oh,"_ Snap muttered quietly.

Metal could only blink at this.

_"...Big Bro? Are you alright?" _Tails Doll hummed, as he tilted his head.

"...yeah." Metal eventually nodded, rubbing the back of his head. _...strange... why am I reacting like this?_ he thought.

Not too long after, someone who looked soaking wet and wrapped in that towel swept by as quickly as possible so not to be seen, disappearing within another door quickly, and afterward Joy was walking through the hall back into the living room. "Mama's in her room now," Joy said.

"...so I noticed." Metal uttered, before he cleared his throat. _...don't tell me that I'm reacting like this because of that dream...? _he thought, before glancing at Joy. "...so, ready for another round?" he said, hoping to get his mind onto other things.

"M-hm!" Joy said, sitting back down in her spot. "Go!" and she eagerly started the game again.

As the clapping game went on, Metal really seemed to be getting into it, and he actually smiled for a good while whilst keeping up the rhythm. Eventually, he was the one who slipped up, causing him to laugh a bit. "Care for another round?" he asked Joy.

"Yeah!" Joy cheered, readying for another game.

"Alright, here we go!" Metal said, the two clapping once again.

Watching the two, Tails Doll tilted his head again. _"...man... Big Bro's really happy."_ he noted.

Snap seemed to notice this too, and he nodded in agreement with Tails Doll. Even if he hadn't known Metal very long, he could tell that it was unusal to see him like this. Joy looked pretty happy too.

_"...but if Big Bro's happy... it's a good thing, right?"_ Tails Doll said, just as Metal slipped up again. Laughing, he quickly got ready for another game.

_"...it should be,"_ Snap whispered back, just as Metal and Joy began clapping again. _"...what was Metal like before, Tails Doll?"_ Snap asked, out of curiosity.

Humming, Tails Doll glanced at Snap, tilting his head. _"...I don't think we should talk about it with him so close... maybe we can go downstairs?" _he whispered.

_"...let's do that, then,"_ Snap muttered; the two of them sneaking around Metal and Joy, who were too absorbed in their game to notice the robot and the plushie sink down the stairs into the shop. The sign on the window still said CLOSED on it, so no one was in there.

_"Alright," _Snap said, speaking in a more natural volume to his relief.

_"...right... how Big Bro used to be..."_ Tails Doll began, letting out a sigh. _"...well, to begin with, he was very straight-forward, and when he had a goal in mind, he'd see it through until the end."_

_"That decisive, hm?" _Snap murmured.

_"...he was also kinda cold."_ Tails Doll hummed. _"But that's just because he was a machine... until he began using those forces..."_

_"...he was a machine?" _Snap uttered in wonder. Then his interest focused on the three forces Tails Doll mentioned. _"...tell me more..."_

_"...well, there were these two forces; Purity and Corruption."_ Tails Doll began. _"Purity was really nice; it was soothing, and could heal people... but Corruption was bad; it only managed to hurt people."_

_"...go on,"_ Snap urged; his curiosity increasing.

_"...actually, Jill knew how to use Purity, and..."_ Tails Doll stopped. He wasn't sure if Snap should know about Callous and her relationship with Jill. _"...and... a mean lady knew how to use Corruption, along with a meaner guy. Big Bro wanted to beat the lady, so he and Jill trained together."_

_"...were Jill and Metal old friends or something?"_ Snap wondered.

_"Well... they became friends during training."_ Tails Doll said. _"Anyways... Big Bro learned how to use both Purity and Corruption... and he actually combined them to create a new force; Unity!"  
_

_"Really now?"_ Snap said. This was pretty interesting as far as how it was told by Tails Doll. He was sure a lot more detail went into it, but he understood that kind of detail might take a long time to explain. _"...so, this mean lady, and this meaner guy," _Snap said. _"Did Jill and Metal beat them?"_

_"Oh, it took a while, but they actually beat them!" _Tails Doll said with a nod. _"Though... because he used Unity so much, Big Bro was turned organic... and then, the meaner guy went on a complete rampage- while still being dead!"_

_"...wait, I'm confused a little,"_ Snap murmured. _"...the meaner guy was already dead? But the dead cannot be alive...that's illogical."_

Obviously Snap did not know the horrors of Corruption's capabilities.

_"...well... it's kinda hard to explain..." _Tails Doll hummed. _"...but anyways, he used Corruption to become a HUGE dragon, and both Jill and Big Bro fought him a lot! Then... Big Bro managed to seal the mean guy away!"_

Snap remained silent, waiting to see if Tails Doll had anything else to say...

_"...then..."_ Tails Doll hummed. _"...Big Bro needed to make sure that the mean guy couldn't break free from being sealed... so he had to stay behind and be left all alone, until now..."_

_"...you mean, he was all alone for a few years, to protect others from this bad man?"_ Snap asked in astonishment.

_"...yeah."_ Tails Doll nodded._ "I was really surprised... after all, he first came back to see how we were doing... when you were activated, Snap."_

_"...wow..."_ that was pretty amazing to take in. Snap had no idea that Metal went through that. Thinking about it, some of it started to make sense. _"...that's why he's afraid to stay here," _he said. _"...he's afraid that Jill and Joy might get hurt..."_

_"...y-yeah..."_ Tails Doll hummed, as he nodded. _"...if he isn't careful, then the mean guy could free himself... and he'd instantly try to target Jill... and maybe Joy, too..."_

Snap thought back to the sight of Metal and Joy happily playing that clap game, and the sight left him in more awe after the information he gained.

Back upstairs, the door in the hall opened, and out walked a fully dressed Jill, drying out her hair with the towel while she walked down the hall into the living she found herself looking upon the surprising sight of Metal and Joy playing a clapping game. It wasn't until Joy slipped on this one that she noticed her mother standing at the entrance of the doorway. "Hi Mama!" She said, getting up. Then she ran to throw her arms at Jill's knees. "You're all sparkwy clean!" Jill patted her head with a smile on her face, and then looked at Metal.

Looking back at her, Metal regarded a nod to Jill, as he stood up. "...well, as Joy says... sparkly clean, I suppose..." he hummed, rubbing the back of his neck.

Jill's smile widened a bit.

Joy suddenly looked around. "Smap and Tais-dah are gone," she said, and this caused Jill to notice once she looked around.

Blinking, Metal glanced around as well, before his eyes fell on the door. "...maybe they went downstairs." he hummed.

"Imma go check!" Joy said, heading through that door before anyone could stop her. "Be right back!"

Metal could only watch Joy leave through the door with a bewildered look, before letting out a small sigh. "...kids will be kids..." he mused, before he glanced at Jill... just as he quickly looked away from her.

Jill looked at him, and tilted her head, wondering if something was wrong. Metal was sure acting strange...

Metal noticed that, and he just knew that the way he acted had tipped Jill off somehow...

_...no sense in hiding it... but I can't tell her outright._

"...Jill." he eventually said, still not looking at her. "...I have something to tell you..."

Jill looked at him, waiting for him to speak. She was willing to help him if there was anything wrong.

"...I've... spoken with Novagod." Metal eventually said, before looking back at Jill. "...he... knows of a way that I can return your voice to you."

Jill was...petrified when she heard that.

...there was a way her voice could be returned? After all these 5 years of the silent treatment sentence? Then there was something else Jill wondered... why would Deity give up information like that? Just what lengths did Metal go to?

"...however..." With a small sigh, Metal closed his eyes. "...he didn't tell me how to do it." he lied, only because he didn't want to shock Jill with what he had to do to bring her voice back; at least, not just yet. "...I intend to get the solution out of him somehow..." Then, he looked back up at Jill. "...so just hang in there, alright? I'll get your voice back, Jill."

Jill's hope sort of sank at that, since she had jumped to the conclusion that Metal knew how, but not all her hope, now that there was a way... this brought a thankful smile to Jill's lips.

Seeing that smile, Metal smiled back at her. "...I'll speak to him tonight. With any luck, you might get your voice back by tomorrow."

Jill made sure not to startle Metal when she gave him a grateful hug. Metal didn't know how happy she was to hear that; well, maybe he did, but point aside... she would finally be able to communicate to her daughter. To talk to her...tell her how much she loved her, and sing her lullabies at night. Metal was a bit surprised, but not enough to disrupt the mood, as he returned the hug.

Just as Jill pulled away, Joy emerged from the stairs carrying Tails Doll in her arms, and Snap following her. "Are we gonna do anything fun today, Mama?" she asked.

_"Wait...what about the shop?"_ Snap asked in confusion.

"It's closed on days like today," Joy answered. "This is mine and Mama's fun day!"

"...fun day?" Both Metal and Tails Doll glanced at Joy with a confused look, before looking at Jill for clarification.

Their looks were amusing for Jill, and she wrote something on the notepad. _On one day of the week, I spend a day full of quality time with Joy. Only, since everybody started coming to visit me...I sort of forgot to plan something to do with her today._ And she looked a little guilty about it too after Metal read that.

Reading that, Metal let out a small sigh, before he glanced at Joy. "So, what do you and Jill usually do on these days, Joy?" he inquired.

"Sometimes we go visit Mama's friends, like Sonia or Sage," Joy said. "Other times we go to the water and play if its hot enough outside. I membered that we got to watch some of the soldiers do stuff too, like climbing high walls and racing each other on flying boards."

"...flying boards..." somehow that clicked in Snap's mind. He tapped his head to try and pinpoint what it was. "...you mean...Extreme Gears?" how that word was programmed in his head, he wasn't sure.

"M-hm!" Joy confirmed cheerfully. "And Mama races too! She gotsa pretty flying board!"

"...is that right?" Metal hummed, as he glanced back at Jill.

Jill bit her lip. It was true, she had an Extreme Gear...

...it was just the one that Brick made her years ago. Before, she managed to use it just fine, reminding her of happier times. With Metal around though...she wasn't sure why, but the mention of it was a bit uncomfortable; embarrassing really.

Noticing that, Metal glanced away, rubbing the back of his neck.

_"...well, what would you like to do today, Joy?" _Tails Doll asked, as he glanced at the little ewe.

"Hm..." the 3 year old pondered it for awhile. After awhile, her face lit up with a big smile. "...Music Square!"

Jill smiled too. That was something she could do.

But this confused the heck out of the other three. _"...Music Square?"_ Snap uttered.

"Itsa place on the island," Joy said. "People go there to play music. Mama can play music too! She's really good!" She looked up at her mother with a smile. "I like listening to her play music!"

"...she does have talent." Metal commented, as he closed his eyes, recalling the song Jill had played for him when he managed to fuse together Purity and Corruption years ago.

_"Then... let's go to the Music Square!" _Tails Doll said with a laugh.

Jill nodded. She wrote something on the notepad, and ripped it out, making her usual disappearing act after she handed it to Metal. _You guys go ahead and wait downstairs, I need to get something, _Metal read.

"...well, let's not keep her waiting." Metal said with a nod to Joy and Snap. "Let's get downstairs." he added, before he walked out of the door, holding it open for Joy and Snap.

Joy pranced happily down the stairs with Tails Doll in her arms, and Snap followed, allowing Metal to enter down the stairs as well. It didn't take very long after they got down there for Jill to finally come down, carrying something.

It was a violin case.

Humming at the sight of that, Metal nodded, as he allowed Jill to go past him. "Lead the way." he said with a smile.

Jill returned the nod, heading out the door with the crowd following her.


	6. Chapter 6

_**5 Years Later – Chapter Six…**_

Music Square. It was nothing more than the town square circling around a large fountain, and while it was usually bustling with life, not so many were here today. Possibly since the new arrivals were still busy with their new schedules and the old veterans that once came here had now left for greener pastures.

There was a guitar-playing skunk sitting near the fountain, with at least three or four people listening to the music he played, while a flute-playing dragonfly managed to gather a small crowd with her songs.

Jill somehow felt more at home here, maybe because music was such an important part of her life in her village.

_"Wow..." _Snap remarked, listening to the guitar and flute; both sounded good, and easy on the ears.

Metal couldn't help but hum, as he listened to the music with great intrigue. _...they're quite good._ he thought.

As Jill walked by... those in the crowd caught a glimpse of her and with greeted her with smiles. The skunk didn't stop playing, but he smiled too when he saw Jill pass by with her violin case. "...guess we're in for a treat today," the skunk mused to himself.

She stopped by another part of the fountain, and set the case on its edge to open it up. Inside sat a violin, with the most vivid red wood ever looked upon.

"So pretty," Joy said with awe, smiling at it.

"...I'll say." Metal hummed, as he folded his arms.

"Well, now! Looks like we're all getting a show!"

Hearing that voice, Metal glanced towards where it came from, where he could see King and Tasha walking towards them.

Joy whirled around happily when she heard him. "Hi King!"

"Oh, so these were your friends from that shop," Tasha said, looking at all of them; mainly Joy, with a warm smile.

"Hi, my name is Joy and I'm 3 years old," Joy began with her usual introduction.

"Hello Joy, my name is Tasha," the linx replied with friendliness. "It's very good to meet you."

Jill smiled when she watched that, taking out the bow to tighten the horse-hairs.

"Guess we got here just in time." King chuckled, as he nudged Tasha. "Once she starts playing, it'll be the best."

Folding his arms, Metal glanced back at Jill, waiting for her to begin playing the violin.

Jill rosined up her bow, and tucked the chin rest into her neck as she stroked the bow over it a moment, making sure it was tuned. Then she jumped right into the song with a slow, but jaunty tune. The minute she started playing, a hush fell over everyone, and the skunk and dragonfly even stopped their playing to hear Jill.

"Isn't that the girl from the tournament the other night?" one soldier suddenly whispered to another.

"Indeed," the other answered. "From what I heard, she has no voice, but if you listen carefully to her music, you can hear her speak through it. Nothing but pure magic somebody told me..."

Tasha heard that, and looked at Jill in astonishment. "...she certainly has interesting things to say," she remarked.

Metal looked at Jill silently while she played. _...magnificent..._ he thought, as he closed his eyes. _...she certainly has talent._

As the group simply listened to Jill, Tails Doll happened to glance towards one building, where he actually saw Krieg leaning against the wall, taking in the music as well. _...that guy again..._ he thought, before glancing back at Jill. _...he's listening to her music, too..._

Jill's playing somehow inspired the skunk to begin again on the guitar; actually accompanying her. The song gained more feeling as the two worked with each other, building up something extraordinary. Although, what the skunk wasn't expecting was that when it got to a certain point, Jill kicked into high throttle and madly ran the bow over the strings in a quick pace that awed the audience. The skunk studied the tempo, and finally found a way to join back in again, while those around them started clapping in tandem with her. Her fingers were lightning fast across the fingerboard, and Jill had this sassy smirk about her that almost expressed how effortlessly she was playing.

Joy was utterly mesmerized by her mother's playing, and was so drawn in to it that she was in a hypnotized state. The song carried through the air far, and many began to hear it. They, too, were drawn to its sound, and Jill's fiddling managed to gather together a growing crowd of curiosity.

Metal happened to notice the growing crowd around them, blinking in curiosity. _...her music is this powerful?_ He thought, looking back at Jill.

Even Rudy and the others seemed to hear it clear across the town as they emerged out of the pub. "Do you hear that?" he asked in amazement. Whoever playing was pretty good.

Ani smiled, "Sounds like Jill."

Boomer's jaw dropped. "…that's Jill playing?"

"Yep!" Sonia said with a smile. "She's probably over at the Music Square. Come on; I'll show you the way there!" she said, before she began heading towards where the music came from. "Don't fall behind, now!"

"...guess we should follow her." Wiper hummed, as he began walking after Sonia, followed shortly by the others.

Charmy chuckled, "it seems Jill is quite the passionate violinist," he remarked, while all of them hurried along.

Then they were more surprised about the crowd that collected around the fountain where her sound came from.

"…whoa," Rudy uttered.

"...how many people are gathering by the fountain?" Newt uttered in awe.

"...I can't keep track of how many; but if I'd have to give a rough estimate, I'd say that at least 50 people are gathered there at the moment." Natal hummed.

Jill finally tore the bow away from the violin, accomplishing an instant round of applause and cheers from the large audience she attained. While she looked at them all, she let out a deep, exhausted breath...almost of satisfaction. Strangely enough...she felt like she just let out something that had been locked up so tightly inside her, for so long...the instant her bow had touched the strings, it started to seep out little by little, and a growing impatience finally caused it to just pour out of her like a river. A relief swept over her like the relief that followed when a weight was taken off one's shoulders.

The woman with no voice somehow told her feelings, and she had been heard...

And Jill wasn't sure why, but something brought her to look at Metal.

This time, however, Metal looked right back at her, rather than simply looking away as he had done before. Now, a smile crossed his lips, and he joined in the applause as well, albeit not with as much intensity as the rest of the crowd around him.

Seeing that, the same smile reflected off of Jill while she looked at Metal.

Then her attention was pulled away since Tasha set a hand on her. "That was marvelous!" she said over the crowd.

Jill bowed her head to her in thanks.

Even through the thunderous applause, Tails Doll managed to glance past the crowd, noticing that where he had seen Krieg, the warthog no longer was. _...when did he leave?_ he thought, before looking back towards Jill, still clapping as best he could.

"Hey, play another song!" called out a soldier, and more cheering ensued, causing Jill to blush bashfully.

Even if she didn't notice him, Metal simply gave her an encouraging nod from the audience, wanting to see if she'd play more.

Jill got an idea.

She knelt down and reached out a hand to Joy, pulling her up and setting her on the fountain. Joy looked a little shy about it, but her mom put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. After the two shared smiles, Jill tucked the chin rest into her neck again, and started a quietly soothing, mysterious tune.

Then something most of the audience didn't expect to see was that Joy opened her mouth and began to sing.

"_Tossing and turning in the night,"_

"_The sounds are unsteady and cause fright…"_

"_But don't fear. You are safe in my arms."_

She possessed such an innocent, calming voice, and like Jill's fiddling from before, it carried out through the air for all of them to become absorbed into.

Metal could only blink as he watched the two of them perform. He, too, was absolutely drawn into the song, and he simply couldn't take his eyes off the duo.

"_The moving shadows made to scare,"_

"_Dancing around you in a nightmare…"_

"_But don't fear. I will protect you from harm."_

Yes, Joy's voice was soothing, but it also had a strange power to it, like some sort of…mystical dream.

Not only that, but a gentle breeze strangely began to sweep through the air…

That breeze snapped Metal out of being entranced by the song, and he looked around him to see where this breeze came from. But he never found the true source of this breeze. All that Metal could observe was that somehow…the breeze silently circled around Joy; but did so in a much too unnoticeable way for anyone else in the audience to notice.

"_You lie listless underneath the stars, and try to sleep,"_

"_But your troubles are stirring and growing deep."_

"_Let me help you, weary one."_

"_So that your discord may be undone…"_

Noticing the way the breeze acted, Metal couldn't help but blink. _...is the wind... reacting to her song?_ he thought.

"_Just come back to me…for I have been waiting for you."_

The breeze died down, and Jill finished playing; instantly making the audience roar with excitement.

As the others clapped, Metal didn't join in; he still only looked at the two in awe. A smile did eventually come across his face though, and he simply folded his arms, giving the two a nod.

Jill whisked Joy up and gave her a big hug to show her what a great job she did. Joy looked pretty proud of herself, and she hugged her mother back tightly to express the same thing for her.

_"I guess I'm not surprised that she would inherit her mother's musical talent,"_ Snap said.

"They've got talent, that's for sure!" Rudy, Sonia, Wiper and the others managed to shove their way through the crowd to the front, where Metal, Tails Doll, Snap, King and Tasha were.

_"Oh, hey, guys!"_ Tails Doll called, as he noticed the others. _"Did you hear the music as well?"_

"You bet!" Newt said with a grin, as he folded his arms whilst looking at the two. "Joy sang pretty well, didn't she?"

"Both her and Jill really make a great team." Sonia said with a chuckle.

"For a 3 year old, she has potential," Charmy chuckled. "...but what really has me was the way they performed." He looked over at Jill and Joy, and smiled. "...they're so close to each other, and that song makes me think about what they may have gone through together..."

"Captain...?" Boomer uttered. She didn't expect Charmy to say something like that.

Charmy looked pretty serious then.

Metal heard that, and closed his eyes with a small sigh. _...I can only imagine what he's thinking at the moment..._ he thought, eventually looking back up at Jill and Joy.

The audience finally deteriorated away, but a good many of them remained to listen to the skunk's guitar and the dragonfly's flute. Jill set her violin back in the case for now, but she left the case open in the case that she might play again. That's when she noticed the group that had pushed through to the front, and she regarded greeting nods to the GUN agents and the Chaotix.

"Just how long have you been playing anyway, Jill?" Cal asked curiously, and Jill handed him the notepad shortly after. Reading it, Cal looked amazed. "Since you were 6 years old, huh?" and Jill nodded.

"15 years, huh..." Wiper hummed, before giving her a nod. "...your talent really shows, Jill." he said with a nod.

"So, you and Joy having a blast here?" Sonia inquired with a slight smile.

Jill nodded, and Joy laughed. "We had lotsa fun!" Joy said. "I'm happy that people liked our music."

"Maybe then everyone will be in the mood tonight to hear Ani sing at the pub," Hunter chuckled, and Ani looked a bit embarrassed.

"You all amaze me," Tasha remarked, smiling.

"Well, everyone on Safe Haven have their own special areas of expertise." King chuckled, as he smiled as well. "So, got any other plans for your day with Joy, Jill?" he hummed.

Jill scratched the back of her neck a bit nervously. Playing music wasn't going to last the entire day...and she still didn't have any other ideas come to her yet. She had been a little too caught up in the moment when she played...

_"Hmm..."_ Humming, Tails Doll glanced back at Joy. _"Do you want to do something else, Joy?"_

Joy put a finger to her lips, trying to think of something else. While she happened to glance back at the violin, she gasped and hid behind Jill. It wasn't the violin...but the people who were standing there, looking at it.

"...your music was interesting," spoke a certain black and white leopard, looking at Jill with those crimson eyes. Standing by the leopard was a small owl, who smiled eerily at Jill.

"...you two are?" Wiper uttered, as he glared at the two characters.

"...Diablo and Kiri." King growled, as he looked right at the leopard. "Fancy seeing you here."

Metal, seeing both the creepy child from before along with this leopard, actually stepped closer to Jill while simply looking back at them. He knew that Kiri was bad news, but Diablo seemed even worse.

Jill was frozen by their stare, and she could feel her heart grow frantic, pounding in her chest. The others also reacted the same way, but then they all did different things. Rudy hid behind Boomer and Charmy, while the two of them tried to keep their strength looking at the two dark ones standing there. Both Newt and Natal, though they were intimidated, tried following King and Wiper's example of keeping a straight face, though one could tell that they were nervous. Sonia, on the other hand, couldn't even look at them, as she quickly directed her gaze elsewhere. Hunter and Ani couldn't look either.

Looking at the two, Tails Doll blinked, tilting his head. _...these guys..._ he thought, the gem on his head blinking a bit. _...they're something else... they remind me of..._

Cal, meanwhile, sensed something off about the two of them. The worst part of it was that he could sense it so with the power he had that he hoped wouldn't react to anything again.

Tasha studied all their expressions, and then she herself looked at Diablo and Kiri; somehow, she was the most capable of keeping a straight face while looking at them.

"To be able to pour your heart and soul into this instrument is a true gift," Diablo continued, turning his gaze down to Jill's violin. "I must say I was touched by your song...it sounded like you were quite cheerful about something." Then he looked back at Jill. "..._very_ cheerful."

Kiri simply giggled at this.

"...you two aren't scheming anything, are you?" King eventually uttered, as he folded his arms.

"Why would we?" Diablo said to King. "We heard the music and we came to listen...that's all."

Tasha and Cal suddenly saw something. While Tasha was confused about it, Cal was in high alert.

They both noticed Jill's eyes turn red.

Diablo grinned while he saw that. Kiri giggled even more at the sight of this.

"...well, she isn't playing anymore." At that point, Metal actually walked right up to Diablo, glaring right into his eyes. "So get lost." he uttered coldly.

Diablo frowned as Metal stared right at him. _Sure are a bold one, aren't you?_ he thought. _...seems quite set on protecting her..._ "...very well," Diablo answered, turning around and walking away. "Come along Kiri..."

"...yes, Big Brother." Kiri nodded, though not before looking up at Metal with a frown. Then, she walked after Diablo.

_"...wow, that was so cool, Big Bro!" _Tails Doll said, as he only looked at Metal in awe. _"You sent them away just like that!"_

In thankful relief, Jill's eyes reverted back to green, and she rubbed her arms to try and comfort herself. Seeing her mother so scared, Joy tried to give her a hug, though being that short only allowed her to hug Jill's leg she had hid behind. But no amount of comforting would prepare Jill for what happened next.

"...Jill," Tasha said. "...why did your eyes turn red?"

Jill's heart stopped.

No... She didn't just ask that question, did she?

Save for Sonia, just about everyone in the group quickly looked at Tasha with a stunned look, Metal most of all.

"Um..." Quickly, King took Tasha by the shoulders, beginning to lead her away. "No reason, Tasha, no reason!" he said with a nervous laugh, hoping that she wouldn't press the issue. "No need to worry about that at all, no sir!"

Watching King lead Tasha away, Metal eventually looked back at Jill.

Jill couldn't believe that Tasha asked that. Her lip trembled while she tried to deal with the way Tasha just made her feel now. It was hard enough trying to cope with the idea that it was happening every time she saw Kiri or Diablo, but now that it was known...

...her feelings started to grow to an overwhelming state, and she tried to breath steady, but it only grew more panicked...

Finally, Jill just spun around and ran away, leaving all of them behind.

"Mama?" Joy was startled to see her mother act this way, and to see her run from all of them.

Seeing that, Metal was surprised as well, briefly closing his eyes. "...wait here; I'll follow her." he eventually said, taking off after her.

"...Mama..." Joy watched Metal go after her, and an upset expression appeared on her. She didn't understand exactly why Mommy ran away...but she didn't like to see her mom so scared. It only made her even more scared of Kiri and Diablo; afraid that maybe someday, those two might hurt them.

Meanwhile, Metal trailed Jill into the woods. She finally stopped when she thought she was all alone, and fell to her knees in utter despair, holding her head. She wanted to tell herself that it wasn't happening, but she wasn't good with denial.

Standing by a tree, Metal folded his arms as he leaned against it. "...there's something on your mind, Jill." he hummed.

Jill didn't move. She was scared that she wasn't alone when she thought she was, but she did nothing. She was broken.

"...Jill..." Letting out a small sigh, Metal approached Jill, sitting down by her and placing a hand on her shoulder. "...just try and relax... alright?"

That provoked a tear or two to come out of Jill's eyes, and she was so ashamed that happened that she hid her eyes in her hands, trying to hold it in.

"...don't be ashamed, Jill." Metal said. "If you want to let it out... then go ahead. No one else is watching."

Hearing that, she instantly broke down sobbing.

Watching Jill cry, Metal slowly glanced down at the ground. _...even after all these years..._ he thought, before glancing back at her. _...I really wish there was some way I could help you..._

Jill wept while so many things crossed her mind. She wasn't quite so afraid that they found out; it was a matter of what could happen if this continued. She was still traumatized by what happened that night Brick died, and by all that confusion swirling around whether or not she really did kill those men. Could it have been Callous that had done that? And what if something like that would happen again? What if Jill lost control on herself and did something horrible? Joy couldn't be subjected to the horrors of her past; she couldn't do that! She didn't want to destroy any innocence Joy had...any innocence of the one most dear to her.

"...now there's food for thought."

At that point, Metal suddenly realized that he had been wrong; the two of them weren't alone, since someone stood in front of them, with her arms folded. "...Jill... you feel like talking?" Sage said, as she sat down in front of the two.

Jill's weeping actually subsided when she heard Sage's voice, though she didn't make much of a response to her question. She knew Sage was going to find out sooner or later...but in a way, it was a little comforting to know that; to know that Sage could tell what was wrong.

"...Sage..." Metal uttered, looking at the raven.

"...not now, Metal; ladies are talking." Sage said, as she closed her eyes. _...unless you want to talk to Metal, Jill?_ she thought, sending those thoughts into Jill's head. _If not, I'll just talk to you like this._

_...you already know what's wrong Sage,_ Jill thought. Then her head slightly rose, so her eyes could meet Sage's. _...but Metal needs to know...and there's no way I could write anything..._

_...I get it._ Sage nodded, as she slowly placed her hands on Jill's head. _Just focus your thoughts..._

Jill closed her eyes and tried to relax long enough to be able to do this.

After a short while, Sage's eyes opened again; blank and whited out.

Metal blinked, as he looked towards Jill; he had a feeling that what had happened five years prior would happen again. "...Jill?" he eventually said.

Jill took in a deep sigh. "...Metal," Sage spoke instead, but Metal's intuition was on the dot; it certainly didn't sound like Sage's voice. It must have been Jill's voice, or the idea of her voice, coming out of Sage. "...part of me wishes that you didn't see me break down like I just did," she said. Jill's voice sounded different than it did years ago; deeper, and it had a much more mature tone in it

"...is that so?" Metal uttered, before letting out a sigh. "...sorry, but... I was worried about you."

"...I know," Sage murmured. "...I feel bad for leaving Joy behind like that, but I couldn't let her see me like this."

"...you need to stay strong for her sake... right?" Metal presumed, before he glanced away. _...just like I did for you years ago..._ he thought.

"...right," Sage answered. "...I don't want to ruin anything about her...because, even if everyone says she's a lot like me, she has a lot of Brick in her too...It's childish I guess, but I don't want to do anything that will stop her from growing strong and determined just like him..." Jill wiped her wet eyes, feeling like she didn't need to cry anymore. Being able to talk like this was helping...

Glancing back at Jill, Metal eventually placed a hand on her shoulder. "...I'm sure she'll grow up to be strong and determined like Brick, Jill." he said with a nod. "Especially with a great mother like you."

That brought a smile to Jill, although she still couldn't look at Metal. "...You probably already know Brick died years ago," Sage continued speaking, Jill's smile fading. "...but I'm not sure if you know how he died..."

"...actually..." Slowly looking away from Jill, Metal closed his eyes. "...I do. Sage... she showed me the notes you wrote."

"...you read them, huh?" Sage muttered. "...then I can explain to you why I feel this way..." Jill finally looked at Metal. "I don't know what happened that night, but if Callous ended up coming out of me and killing those men...then I'm afraid that something like that might happen again. I don't know how Kiri or Diablo manage to draw her out, but they do...and..." Jill didn't have the strength to look at Metal again. "...I can't let Joy find out who Callous is... and I can't let her learn of the things that happened in the past..."

"...you really wish to protect her from that woman..." Metal uttered, before looking back at Jill. "...I'll try to help you out, in any way I can, Jill."

Jill looked back up at Metal, and a faint smile returned. "...thanks Metal," Sage spoke. "...and even if I didn't want you to see me break down, I'm glad that you came back..."

"...you're welcome... Jill." Metal said with a brief nod to her, simply looking at her.

The two ended up staring at each other, and sometime later Jill finally pulled her eyes away awkwardly.

Blinking, Sage held her head as she stepped back. "...hoo... it still takes a lot out of me..." she hummed, before looking back at the two.

Jill took a deep breath and smiled up at Sage. _Thank you, _she thought, knowing Sage would hear her.

_Anytime._ Sage thought with a slight nod, before she glanced at Metal, who glanced up at the sky now. _...is there something you didn't tell him, Jill?_ she thought out of curiosity.

_...what do you mean?_ Jill wondered in puzzlement.

_Just wondering if you have something in your head you'd rather not tell him, yet..._ Sage responded.

_...w-what?_ Jill pulled herself onto her feet with the support of the tree, looking at Sage uneasily.

_Don't worry; I'm just curious. I won't tell him; honest._ Sage thought with a smile, just as Metal got to his feet. _...now... could you answer my question, please?_

Jill stood there a minute, and glanced at Metal. Then she hurriedly turned away, trying to hide, from Metal at least, that she was turning slightly pink. _...n-no, it...it wouldn't be right,_ was the thought that Sage caught from Jill.

_...oh my... _Blinking, Sage glanced at Metal, who hadn't noticed Jill turning slightly pink just yet. _...don't tell me that you... _she thought, before glancing at Jill.

_I...I don't know,_ Jill thought. _...but I think we should get to the others..._ and she started walking.

Seeing Jill walk off, Metal followed her.

Sage couldn't help but blink, as she watched the two leave. _...well, now..._ she thought once they were out of sight, before folding her arms. _...that's quite interesting... _As she thought this, she hummed. _...I do wonder what will come from that._

What Sage pointed out suddenly opened Jill's eyes to something she had been so oblivious about. It just made her all the more uneasy though, and her mind raced as she and Metal walked through the woods.

Was it true? Really?

Jill got a glimpse of him over her shoulder when he wasn't paying attention, and then turned back to where she was going. Her baffled shock sank down, and she became disheartened. She wasn't sure herself if it was true or not...

...but she was already hurt once. If Metal didn't feel that way...she didn't want to be hurt again.

* * *

"...if those two can pull that on Jill," Cal said. "...then Diablo and Kiri are pretty dangerous."

"More dangerous than we thought..." Wiper hummed, as he folded his arms. "...I bet that even King didn't know about that."

"...what about Sage, though? You think she knows?" Newt mused, as he glanced at the others.

"...most likely." Natal shrugged.

"And even if she might not have known at first, she'll figure it out pretty easy," Rudy said.

Charmy and Snap had pulled Joy away from the group so that she wouldn't hear what was being said. Joy held Tails Doll in her arms again, and she still looked as sad as she was when Jill ran off. Charmy rubbed her head when he saw that. "Don't worry," he said. "I'm sure your mom will be right back, and she'll be okay."

Joy looked up at Charmy hopefully. "...you think so?"

_"Yeah!"_ Tails Doll chimed in, looking up at Joy. _"So don't you worry, Joy!"_

Snap kept an eye out toward the direction Jill had run off, just in case they would come back. By now, Music Square had emptied; Diablo's and Kiri's presences had scared off the other soldiers and even the skunk and dragonfly had gone off. All that remained were them: The Chaotix, Team Alpha, Sonia, Hunter, Ani, Snap, Tails Doll, and Joy.

Something else Snap saw was that the sun was closing toward the other end of the sky. Soon, it would become sunset. Had the day gone by that fast?

_"...hey! There they are!"_ Snap suddenly called out, drawing everyone's attention to where he pointed. Joy became hopeful when she heard.

Then she smiled, when she saw that it was indeed her mother; thankfully not looking so panicked anymore, and Metal following.

Jill made her pirority to Joy, kneeling to her daughter and wrapping her arms around her dearly in an apologetic hug; Joy releasing Tails Doll to make sure he wasn't squished. It really wasn't right of Jill to leave her daughter behind when her daughter needed her mother's comfort. Joy hugged around Jill's neck in gratitude, and forgiveness.

Approaching the group, Metal couldn't help but smile at the sight of Jill and Joy reuniting. He kept silent while the others noticed him as well, simply regarding a nod to them. He didn't want to disrupt the moment.

Joy looked right into Jill's eyes. "Are you okay now, Mama?" she asked. Jill nodded while stroking Joy's hair back, and gave her a kiss on her forehead before she stood back up. Joy took Jill's hand afterward while she grasped Tails Doll again with the other arm.

Ani turned to the group and leaned in quietly. "...does this mean you guys are going to stay another night?" she whispered.

"...I suppose..." Wiper whispered back. "...we'll need to look into those characters..."

Somehow, Sonia seemed to hear that, as she glanced towards Wiper with a small smile. When he glanced at her, however, she quickly looked away.

Hunter looked up at the sky. "...me and Ani at least need to head back to the pub before the night rush hits," he said, motioning Ani with his head to leave. Ani obeyed, so the two of them left walking down the street of Music Square.

Jill came over to her violin, and closed the case up to get ready to go herself.

"You going home, Jill?" Charmy asked, with Jill nodding in reply.

"...well, I guess I can keep showing you guys around, until nightfall, right?" Sonia presumed, as she glanced at the group, before giving Jill a nod. "You guys have a safe trip home!"

Jill nodded to Sonia too. With the violin case in one hand, and Joy's hand in the other, Jill turned and started leaving herself, glancing back at Metal to see if he was coming with.

Looking at Jill, Metal nodded, before glancing towards Snap. "Let's go." he said with a brief nod.

"Right, just follow me, you guys..." Sonia said, as she motioned for the group she was leading around to follow her.

Everybody scattered apart; Snap going with Jill and Metal, and the rest heading off with Sonia. Charmy looked back at Jill and Metal in curiosity as he walked. He caught Jill looking at Metal, and when he wasn't paying attention too. Then when Metal noticed Jill looking at him, she turned away. It was strange behavior.

"Hm..." he grunted. Then he started thinking as he walked after the group, _I hope she really is alright. I would be worried too if those two could draw Callous out of her._

_

* * *

_

"So, Tasha..." At this moment, King and Tasha were walking through the woods, the tiger scratching the back of his neck awkwardly, trying to find something to talk about.

"...yes?" Tasha answered King, as her hand brushed a moss-covered tree.

"...you..." Glancing up in the air, King was basically grasping at straws. "...think you can keep a secret? Like, don't tell anyone what I'm gonna tell you?"

"...yes, I can keep a secret," Tasha answered, growing interested in what King might have to say.

"Ah, good..." King said, before sighing in relief. "Because... well, it's a touchy subject, really..." Then, he turned to face Tasha. "...it's about Jill... and those red eyes you noticed."

Tasha looked at King. She recalled just catching Jill run off after King pulled her away from the group, when she asked about them. "...go ahead," she said to him.

"Alright..." Nodding, King folded his arms. "...I doubt that you'd know this, but... have you ever heard of someone called Deity Novagod?"

"...I don't believe I have heard that name before," Tasha said.

"That's a relief..." King muttered. "...basically, he was a vampire, who had control of an energy force called Corruption; control over darkness, and things like that." Then, he closed his eyes. "Now, he had this huge vendetta against Jill, spending every moment of his time trying to torment the girl. He even made a copy of her, called Callous."

Tasha stopped when she heard something like that. "...Callous?" she muttered questionably.

"She was basically the exact opposite of Jill. Jill was good, and Callous was rotten to the core." King said, as he folded his arms. "Thankfully, Jill managed to seal away Deity, though Callous went free..." Then, he closed his eyes. "...until five years ago, when Jill finally managed to kill Callous... at the cost of her own life."

That blew Tasha's mind away, and she looked at King, dumbfounded. If Jill supposedly died...then how was she still walking around with the living? "...what happened?" she urged.

"...well, it's complicated..." King muttered, as he looked back at Tasha. "...but because Callous was created with a part of Jill's soul in her, neither of them could pass on, since they weren't whole. So, we thought of a plan; have the two souls merge, and then force the combined soul back into her body. And... well, she was brought back from the dead."

"That's..." Tasha was pretty shocked to hear that they actually brought someone back from the dead. "...amazing."

"Oh, it gets crazier." King muttered, as he glanced away. "Y'see, there was this other guy called Johnny, and Callous had a thing for him. When Callous died, he basically became overtaken by Corruption, and tried using his power to not only draw Callous back in control of Jill's body, but also destroy us all. But then, Deity managed to usurp Johnny's power, and simply tried killing us. It took the combined efforts of both Jill and Metal to finally stop Deity..."

Then, he sighed. "...but it cost Jill her voice."

Tasha was speechless too. She never knew that Jill had the ability to speak once, and what King was telling her was something straight out of an adventure tale she was told once when she was little; only, King was telling this with complete sincerity.

"...and if that wasn't enough..." King muttered. "...even killing him didn't stop him. His spirit just came back to try and destroy us once and for all. But Metal... to finally stop Deity, he actually absorbed Deity into his body." Then, he shook his head. "I'm getting off track... the point I'm trying to get across is... well, there's a good chance that the red eyes you noticed... belong to Callous."

"...what?" Tasha was surprised enough that Metal sealed away a dangerous, powerful man within himself, but to hear that this Callous woman still existed within Jill... "...what can it mean?" she asked King.

"...I'm not sure..." King muttered, before looking at Tasha. "...but it's strange... you saw those red eyes while Diablo and Kiri were pestering us... somehow, I think that those two can actually draw Callous out of Jill."

"...the same way that this Johnny had drawn her out?" Tasha supposed, trying to put things in perspective.

"...maybe so." King nodded, as he sighed. "Sheesh... I knew Diablo was trouble, but not to this extent..."

Tasha pondered it with a serious look about her face, leaning against one of the trees in the woods. "This could mean that I would have to stay for awhile, and keep an eye on them," she said. "They seem to have an intent to draw this Callous out of Jill...but for some purpose that escapes us, apparently."

"...well, we're not gonna let them." King said with a nod. "That girl's been through hell at least twice in her life... and I won't let a couple of sadists pull her out for a third run."

"...and I will do everything in my power to help you," Tasha said, nodding as well. "Jill is a friend of yours, so she is my friend as well."

Looking down at Tasha, King smiled. "...thanks, Tasha. It's good to know that I can count on you." he said, placing a hand on her shoulder.

Tasha smiled back.

Then she looked over at the hand on her shoulder. "...so...if I were to stay..." she murmured shyly. "...would I be provided a place to stay at?"

"Hn? W-well, sure!" King said with a nod. "...um... I think there's room for you... over at my place..." he hummed awkwardly. "...I mean, if it's fine with you, that is..."

Tasha started blushing a tad, unable to make eye contact with King. "Oh... that would be...alright."

"...really?" King uttered, before smiling sheepishly. "That's... that's great! So... mind if I show you the way... Tasha?"

Tasha finally couldn't resist smiling at King. "...lead the way...Twilight."

Hearing that name, King couldn't help but chuckle sheepishly; after all these years, the names the GUN Agents had been given 20 years ago were rarely used. Somehow, hearing Tasha call him that felt... gratifying. "...sure." With a nod, King turned around, though not before he gently took hold of Tasha's hand.

Tasha followed him, holding that hand. She wondered if she really should be doing this... her father sure didn't like what happened before. Sure, over the years he's eased up, but Tasha was never really sure if her father really got over it. She had been forbidden from Safe Haven not just because of the treaty...but because of this.

...but she couldn't push it away. Not when she was finally allowed back here...not when she finally saw King again.

As they walked away, King glanced at Tasha. "...you're alright?" he asked.

"...m-hm," she answered quietly. Even if the concern of her father was there, she really did feel fine... maybe more than fine...

Once the two were gone from the area, two other figures came out of hiding from behind the trees. One of them leaned against a tree. "Well, did you hear that Kiri?" Diablo spoke.

"...I did, Big Brother..." Kiri giggled, as she stood by a tree as well, holding a spider by two of its legs. "...so, the witch's name is Callous?"

"It seems so," Diablo said. "...and what a tale. Who would have thought that Jill had died and was resurrected, hm?"

"...I really wish that she could talk, though..." Kiri hummed, before giggling. "...because I'd like to hear what death is like..."

"I'm sure," Diablo said. Then he turned and started walking. "Well, why don't we consult Raider about his favorite subject; see if he has any useful information..."

"...alright, Big Brother." Kiri giggled, as she followed Diablo. "...I really hope that we can meet Callous, soon..."

"Me too..." Diablo murmured.

By the time they reached their destination, the sun was setting in the horizon. Diablo stepped into ancient territory, where these old walls stood around the entrance of a steel facility. On the side of it, there was an icon with GUN on it. No doubt a part of the old military base that was left from those years ago, when Safe Haven was once called Prison Island. Diablo and Kiri entered through the doors, walking down the halls that were encrusted with vines and age. The only light offered was that of the sunset orange glow poking through the windows, and some various cracks in the walls.

After a bit of traveling through the facility, they reached a certain door they were looking for. Diablo didn't bother with knocking; he just opened it and allowed himself and Kiri in.

"Didn't I tell you to knock?" grumbled a voice from the room they entered in.

It was an office of sorts, and numerous monitors sat on desks circling around a computer chair, where a certain black ox sat leaning back in with his legs kicked up on one of the desks. In his hands was a bowl of popcorn which he munched leisurely, while examining each of his monitors.

"Hello, Raider." Kiri giggled, as she looked at the ox. "How are you doing?"

Raider jumped when he heard that voice, and fell backwards out of his chair because of it, spilling popcorn all over the floor. Grumbling, he pulled himself out of the chair and sat up. "Goddamn child..." he growled under his breath.

"We'll get to the point, since you very well already know why we're here," Diablo said, grinning darkly. "Do you have the information we're looking for?"

"Hmph..." Raider stood up to pull his computer chair off the ground. "...can't give you information unless you exchange some information in return," he said. "That's my policy."

"...then I can give you some information." Kiri said with a giggle, as she climbed up on one of the desks, sitting on it as she gave Raider an eerie smile. "If it's alright with you, that is."

"...mmmh... is this about Jillian?" At that point, the door opened again, as the three instantly saw Hex enter the room, looking at the three of them. "Diablo, darling... you really should learn to cover your tracks better." she said with a chuckle.

Diablo shrugged, while watching Raider look frightened at Kiri. "Not like I was trying to," he answered Hex.

"Mmmh... you should be thankful that only I noticed you." Hex hummed. "Imagine if someone like Sage found you snooping about..."

"...Big Brother would just kill her." Kiri said, before looking at Raider. "...do you want to know something about Jill, Raider?"

Raider was trying to straighten himself from the gaze of this creepy little girl. "What info could you have that I don't already know?"

"Well, for one, we overheard Tasha and King talking about her...and they said something interesting," Diablo said. "The rumors that a witch lives inside her...they're true."

Raider raised in eyebrow in irritation. "...so? I already knew that."

Diablo, for once, actually looked surprised.

"Oh c'mon, Diablo," Raider groaned, rolling his eyes. "The girl wrote a freaken' autobiography. I probably know all there is to know about Jill."

"...really?" Kiri hummed, before giggling. "...well... did you know that Jill actually died once?"

Hex blinked upon hearing that. "...she... died?" she hummed.

"Knew that too," Raider yawned, without amusement.

"Then how about this?" Out of thin air, Diablo pulled out a few documents and handed them to Raider to read. "I had some other information to offer, just in case..."

"...Entry Log 192330," Raider read aloud. "Since the prototype has proven to be too dangerous, the Biolizard has been put away in the safest place I can think of, while I try to reattempt the experiment again, this time, without any factors of danger in the equation." Raider grinned at Diablo. "...this is a Professor Gerald entry. You sure are a sly bastard when you want to be, Diablo."

"Will it suffice, then?" Diablo asked.

"It turns out to be an entry I don't have, so you're lucky on this one," Raider answered, stashing the documents away in a drawer of one of the desks.

"Mmmh... such information..." Hex hummed, before she placed one tentacle on Diablo's shoulder. "...you certainly know how to get what you want..." she said with a sultry smirk.

With only a cold glance at the octopus, Kiri looked back at Raider. "...so... we'll get the info we need, now?"

"...what do you want to know?" Raider asked, folding his arms as he sat back in his computer chair.

"Basically, we would like to know about her past," Diablo answered, peeling Hex's tentacle off his shoulder, uninterested in her.

"Well, do you want to be specific, or are you ordering the whole enchilada here?" Raider asked. "Because there's a lot to go over. Girl's had quite an adventure after all..."

"...if she's had such an adventure..." Hex hummed, as she glanced at Raider. "...perhaps skipping over it wouldn't be such a good idea?"

Kiri blinked, as she looked at Raider with a curious, yet still creepy look.

"Well, I'll start somewhere here," Raider murmured, typing onto a keyboard. It didn't take him very long to bring up some files on the computer; files with A LOT of writing on them. "Okay," he said, leaning back comfortably in the chair. "It all really started when Metal Sonic televised that message to the public about taking over the world, and that crap. You guys remember that, right?"

"Yes, I do," Diablo answered.

"He said that he'd step down if someone went up and challenged him," Raider said. "Well, turns out, there were a few who answered that challenge. First one was the famous Shadow the Hedgehog, and GUN told the public that Shadow managed to halt Metal in his tracks of what he was planning on his dying breath; course, that's all bull. Shadow was killed before he could really stop Metal Sonic from acquiring the legendary 7 Chaos Emeralds."

"...interesting," Diablo murmured, rubbing his chin.

"No, the one that really stopped him was our little heroine," Raider chuckled. "Sweet 16 Jill."

Hex hummed, as she folded a pair of her tentacles. "...mmmh... how intriguing." she hummed.

"Jill basically handed the robot's mechanical ass to him," Raider said, smirking. "So he had to figure out a way to get rid of her, while she and her little friends grieved over Shadow's death. See, she knew Shadow the Hedgehog personally. She also knew Professor Miles "Tails" Prower, Captain Charmy the Bee of the Chaotix, and Cream the Rabbit; the remaining of those legendary Freedom Fighters that fought alongside the one and only Sonic the Hedgehog almost 60 years ago."

"Well, she certainly knew some people," Diablo remarked; quite visibly impressed by this.

"You don't even know the half of it," Raider replied. Then he started scanning farther and farther through the documents. "So there's some freaky stuff going on with her. She's had these dreams throughout the whole time, where she somehow talks to Sonic himself, and his other friends."

Diablo looked really shocked hearing that.

"...she could talk to the dead?" Kiri hummed, before giggling. "Oh, I envy her so much..."

"...you would, wouldn't you..." Hex muttered, before glancing at Raider. "...so, did she find a way to stop Metal Sonic?"

"Not exactly. As it turned out, things twisted around," Raider chuckled. "There's this other character in Jill's life that's terrorized her long ago-"

"Deity Novagod?" Raider was the one to be surprised when Diablo mentioned that name.

"...yeah," Raider said. "I'm going to say that you overheard King talk about him, huh?"

Diablo nodded.

"Deity Novagod was a vampire that fed on life energy of others," Raider continued. "He had a hankering for torture, and decided to use Jill as his victim. Times before, he's gotten away with it, but Jill just so happened to be that special someone who got away from him. They both use these strange powers that no one else in the world possesses, or even understands." He turned back to the monitor. "Deity Novagod used this energy called Corruption which was like darkness. He manipulated people with it, used them as puppets, and even brought the dead to life. It said in here that he could make the dead shake in their graves. He yanked half of Jill's soul out of her, and used it to create an entirely new being who looked just like her, but was in fact, the complete opposite in terms of personality and abilities."

"...Callous..." Diablo murmured.

"Exactly," Raider answered. "She could use Corruption too, which was the opposite of innocent little Jill who could use the power of Purity; an energy that takes on the characteristics of the element of light."

"Well, aside from that, how does this involve Metal Sonic?" Diablo asked.

"Okay, the vamp was sealed away in this thing that looked like a Chaos Emerald, but it was black," Raider said. "Metal found out that the black emerald could hurt Jill; and it was a big deal, because Jill could heal herself, but she couldn't heal the damage done by this thing. He sent somebody after GUN to get it, because Jill gave the black emerald to them to protect. Turns out...that someone Metal sent was Callous."

"...so the two ended up working together?" Hex hummed.

"...strange..." Kiri noted. "...King never said anything about Callous and Metal being on the same side..."

"Maybe because Callous turned on Metal," Raider said. "The girl was no doubt manipulating Metal to use the black emerald, and make Metal "accidentally" free this Deity guy, so Metal took that black emerald and hid it when he found out just how much trouble the power was proving to be. Jill later on found out that Metal somehow hid it on Angel Island."

"THE Angel Island, hm?" Diablo said. "Well now, this gets interesting."

"You're telling me," Raider replied. "Callous wanted to get rid of Jill, and Metal was determined to stop her, because he wanted to be the only one to take Jill's life, so he agreed to a truce with Jill in order to train her to beat Callous."

Diablo raised an eyebrow. "That is an interesting twist of fate," he remarked.

"Mmmh... two bitter enemies, forced to combat a greater foe..." Hex hummed, shivering. "...what an utterly mesmerizing thought."

"...so then what happened?" Kiri urged, now fully absorbed into this story.

"It turned out Callous wasn't the only one to be feared. Jill actually met King and his group, when they were still runaway fugitives; long before they started up Safe Haven," Raider went on. "That's where she got to know about their story; the traumatizing experiences they grew up with in GUN and all. Sage even introduced her to the character they knew as Johnny, who tried to kill them all. In the end, he was the one killed, but GUN used one of the Chaos Emeralds to bring him back to life and hunt down those fugitives."

"Johnny..." Diablo remembered King say that Callous had a thing for him. "...then he met Callous, didn't he?"

"The two attracted to each other like magnets," Raider chuckled. "She introduced him to Corruption, and the two of them became a pretty threatening team for Jill and Metal. Not to mention the two of them were pretty wild...if you know what I mean." He elbowed Hex when he said that, knowing she'd catch his drift.

Hex couldn't help but chuckle at that. "Oooh, how I'd love to partake in their games..." she said, before sighing.

"...go on, Raider." Kiri urged. "Obviously, they didn't beat Jill and Metal Sonic, did they?"

"Guess not, but I'll get to that really soon," Raider said. "Here's the thing; while Callous and Johnny were messing around, Metal and Jill became less like enemies...and more like friends."

"Is that so?" Diablo responded, growing very interested by this.

"Jill was gentle and friendly with him, and that seemed to be enough to break down the robot's cold exterior," Raider answered. "Though I guess it wasn't just her alone; Corruption and Purity were having an effect on him, which allowed the robot to actually feel emotion. It also didn't help that Metal managed to create an entirely new power by combining the two opposing forces together with Chaos Energy; a power they finally named Unity. Around that time, Metal also started to have dreams of his own, and he saw that Deity guy in them, telling him that Jill was going to die on the day of the battle between Callous and Johnny."

Diablo figured this was where Jill's death came in. "...really?"

"Yeah, and it looked like Metal was really worried about that too; to a point where he convinced Jill that she was going to win, and that was that," Raider said. "But then comes the day of the battle, and after awhile, it seemed like a stalemate between Callous and Jill. So Callous decides to pull out a trick of her own, using some voodoo doll of Metal to inject unbelievable pain in Metal to force Jill to forfeit the match. Since Callous and Jill were connected by a soul, anything that happens to one happens to the other and depending on what happens to them is what effect it has. Well, Jill finally decided she would kill herself to stop Callous and save Metal from being destroyed by Corruption."

"...so she didn't want the machine to perish?" Kiri hummed, before tapping her chin in thought. "...most perplexing..."

"Both Metal and Johnny didn't like that very much though. According to Jill, Metal blamed himself for her death, and Johnny was out to cut his throat for Callous dying. The Corruption Johnny used reacted so severely that it changed him into a monster, while Metal's grief made Unity turn him from a machine...to a human."

"Fascinating," Diablo mused with a chuckle. He thought back to the hedgehog he locked eyes with earlier today, and made a connection. That was him...that hedgehog was Metal Sonic. He thought that GUN deemed him gone for good...but like many other things, the government lied. Either that, or their information was faulty.

It didn't matter. Metal Sonic was here, and it seemed like he wanted to protect Jill. How adorable.

"Finally, they figured out how to bring Jill to life. Jill and Callous had to join their souls back together so that Metal could use Unity to supress that joined soul back into Jill's body," Raider said. "Then-"

"We already know the rest, Raider," Diablo cut in. "They went after Johnny, killed him, went after Deity and killed him as well at the expense of Jill's voice, but Deity's spirit was persistant enough to come back and try to kill them again, so Metal sealed his soul away...within his own body." And to think that vessel was here on this island. It made Diablo grin mischeivously.

"Right," Raider said. "Metal told Jill to leave, and they had a heart-broken separation. The End." Then Raider chuckled. "No, I suppose it isn't the end, is it?"

"No, it very well isn't," Diablo chuckled. "You remember that cloaked figure that recently started visiting her? Well, that happens to be Metal Sonic in case you didn't know."

Raider shot Diablo a shocked look. He had never looked at who was underneath that cloak. "...you're serious?"

Diablo nodded.

"...Metal Sonic is on the island right now?" Hex uttered, before shivering. "Mmmh... now that is an interesting thought."

Kiri, however, was silent, as she turned away from Raider, a thoughtful look on her face.

"So, based on all of the information you have, Raider," Diablo said. "What are your suspicions for Metal's being here?"

"...that's a good question," Raider replied. leaning back in his chair while he rubbed his chin. "...maybe the guy finally got the guts to come see her again, who knows?" he said with a shrug.

"...mmmh... just the thought of a machine turned human... who knows what manner of possibilities open up?" Hex chuckled.

"...Big Brother." Kiri said, as she glanced at Diablo. "Can we leave? I want to tell you something important."

"Sure," Diablo answered. "I believe Raider has given us the information we wanted to know, after all." Taking Kiri's hand, he headed toward the door. Before he left, he glanced back at Raider. "I would be careful being alone with her," he said to Raider, gesturing with a nudge of his head toward Hex.

Raider just stared at Diablo; his eyes slightly widening in realization of that.

The moment the two left, however, Hex quickly shut the door with some of her tentacles, looking at Raider with a wicked smirk. "...mmmh... I've been denied my fun twice in a row..." she hummed, before locking the door. "...so you'd better not disappoint me... Raider." Then, she giggled. "Make me feel good."

As the two walked out of the building, Kiri looked up at Diablo. "...I think I know how to really bring out Callous, Big Brother."

"And how do you think we would do that, Kiri?" Diablo asked curiously.

"...Jill's being looked after by Metal Sonic... and she looks after Joy..." Kiri hummed, before giggling. "...would Callous not have the perfect opportunity to come out... if those two no longer drew breath?"

"Kill Metal and Joy, hm?" Diablo rubbed his chin at that. That was pretty good for a 6 year old to come up with, he had to admit. "...Metal seems to have taken a liking to Joy as well," he finally said. "We could start by...oh, I don't know...kidnapping Joy maybe? We could lure Metal to us with her, and kill them both. That aught to be enough to drive Callous out, don't you think?"

"...it should..." Kiri giggled, before looking up at Diablo. "...do you think I could kill them both? I've always wanted to see the insides of a child... and I wonder if Metal's insides are organic or mechanical."

"We'll see," Diablo answered. "For now, let's just keep this to ourselves as we go home. Like Hex said, we wouldn't want anyone like Sage finding out about this..."

* * *

_"Well, here I am at Safe Haven...a baby in my arms._

_It was tough adjusting to a mother, even if I was so naturally one towards other people. But...I feel much more at peace than I ever was. My vision of Joy before couldn't compare to the fragile little girl I now held. Every time I look at her, I remember what I saw. It comforts me so much..._

_...I think I really needed her, as much as she needed me._

_But other things come to mind; regarding the things I went through. My mother either gained, or had a power, passed down to me. It seems to appear and disappear for reasons unknown, my case being whenever I wasn't struggling with Deity. Like when Metal sealed him away, I haven't had my powers since then._

_...oh Metal. Even now, I miss you. _

_I couldn't even begin to imagine what his reaction would be if he found out I had a daughter..._

_...but returning to my point, what would this mean for her? Would Joy gain powers of her own? Both Brick and I had unnatural abilities and while mine was likely hereditary, I'm not sure about him. I guess I never really asked Brick about his abilities."_

Jill read nothing more but scribbles, and remembered that night alone where she cried while Joy was asleep in her crib. Then Joy woke up, and she had to tend to her. Metal was right. Since Joy's birth, Jill tried to put aside her own feelings to take care of her daughter. Something like that might seem stressful, and for Jill, it was stressful at first. Eventually, Jill found it more soothing than frustrating. Joy had the power to cheer her up, and make her forget about all the bad things. That, along with many other things, made her love her daughter so much.

She thought about these things while she sat on her bed in her bedroom, looking over the various entries she had written years back. It was nighttime now, just about bedtime. Joy would be in bed by now, probably sleeping with Tails Doll at her side. She smiled at that thought. It really was heart warming to see the two together. Joy made her first best friend.

Then her smile faded. Rereading the entry she just wrote, she also thought back about what Metal said yesterday morning; about how Joy had somehow managed to push Deity Novagod away and save him. All without knowing what she did, too.

She started reading another entry.

_"Joy just turned 1 years old yesterday. There was frosting all over her cheeks from trying to eat her tiny slice of cake, and I thought it was just adorable. Joy then giggled and clapped her hands, pleased with the smile on my face. If I didn't know any better, I would think that she was trying to make me smile... If that was the case, then she sure is a smart girl...just like her Daddy."_

_"Sometimes I think about how my own mother must have felt. I could only assume that once she died, she could do nothing else but watch me grow up from afar in another realm. Now that I'm a mother, being able to put this in perspective, I would've been heart-broken if I was taken away from Joy. Because of this, I feel more for my mother, and miss her."_

_"And...I suppose Brick might be experiencing the same thing. Reduced to only watching Joy grow up, from wherever he is now."_

_"I would cry about it, but little Joy won't let me. It's funny to think about it..."_

_"...but I think I'm finally starting to heal from what happened. Not that my father's comfort didn't help me when I was still pregnant with Joy, but like I wrote once before...I think I needed her."_

_"Only Joy seemed to have the power to heal my emotional wounds."_

Finishing her reading, her mind was brought back to the subject at hand. She began to understand that there was something going on with Joy. It wasn't like she didn't notice it until now, but she finally grasped the concept that there was a foreshadowing of things to come; especially when it seems like Joy was starting to develop powers beyond her understanding.

In which case, it might be sometime soon.

Jill, being her usual self, grew concerned while thinking about it. At the moment though, this said time still felt far away. After all...Jill's powers hadn't come back as far as she knew. They had an uncanny sense to appear when something was amiss, so...Jill managed to tell herself not to worry about it so much.

Another entry caught her eye, and she started reading it.

_"...I wonder what Metal is doing, all alone in that city. I don't know if Deity is doing anything to him or not, but I couldn't live alone with that horrible monster...not in a thousand years. And even then, I was willing to take that burden instead of letting Metal do it...If Metal was still sane now, living in that city alone with him..."_

_"...I hope he is."_

_"...why Metal? Why did you have to take the torture? Had I really had so much of an effect on you that you took such a heavy sacrifice for me?"_

_"...I want to go back to Metropolis. I wish so much to go there...but Joy needs her mother. She is still too young to really be taken anywhere...and I'm afraid of what I might come to if I tried to bring Joy with me. So many things could happen..."_

_"...if something bad happened to Metal, I wouldn't want Joy's tiny eyes to see it. That...and I don't think I could handle it...I had already lost Brick, and I'm just barely coming out of that. If anything happened to Metal..."_

That was all of that entry, and Jill set it down, feeling awkward again.

It wasn't like the feelings she suddenly discovered had appeared the moment Sage pointed them out. It was almost as if...she's had them. Why she didn't know about it, she wasn't entirely sure. It could all have been disguised under the impression that they were just friends, and that Jill was in love with Brick. Either that, or like with any other emotion she put aside for Joy, it was set away where she couldn't think about it more deeply than she was thinking about it right now.

Now that she was thinking about it, she grew uneasy. Brick died 3 years ago...and she was having these feelings for someone else? For Metal no less? The one who, in the beginning, wanted her dead by his hand?

Fate was weird..._very _weird.

_...Jill..._ Lying on the couch in the living room, Metal simply looked up at the ceiling. He had no idea what time it was, and Snap likely thought that he was asleep. The fact of the matter was, he didn't want to sleep. He was far too absorbed in his own thoughts to even think about sleep... not to mention that Deity was waiting for him to fall asleep before attacking him.

As he thought about it, he found it strange. What he had to do for Jill to recover her voice was... awkward, to put it mildly. And the more he thought about it, the more suspicious it sounded. _...just what could Novagod be thinking...?_

As he slowly closed his eyes, another thought ran through his head. _...would it truly be right...?_ he thought. _...for me... to..._ Before he knew it, sleep had overtaken him, as his eyes shut fully.


	7. Chapter 7

_**Years Later – Chapter Seven…**_

_The mists of the swamp invaded my mind again. Only this time it wasn't so silent. Something drifted in the thick foggy air, and at first it was unclear, but the longer I listened to it, the more likely I was able to determine what it was._

_Singing._

_...just who was singing? Curious, I began stepping through the foggy swamps, trying to determine just where the singing came from._

_After walking a bit, I found the source. On a rock near the water's edge, someone sat with their back against me. It didn't take very long to recognize those maroon-colored, curly horns, and that very long chocolate brown hair that was really supposed to be short..._

_...was that Jill?_

_It must be; the singing was coming from her, and it was much too old to be Joy. It was still a little difficult to tell; that hair was so thick and long it practically shielded most of her from view._

_But the voice was...breath taking. _

_I gulped. Even though I had heard her speak through Sage earlier, listening to her singing was absolutely wonderful. A smile actually crossed my lips, and I slowly approached her..._

_...this seemed too good to be true... but for the moment, I couldn't care less._

_She kept singing, and her hand gently brushed the tip of the water's surface leisurely. Did she not yet notice me behind her, or had she been waiting for me? It was still difficult to tell._

_After a short while, I stopped right behind her. "...Jill...?" I uttered while simply standing there, waiting to see if she would respond, or even acknowledge me._

_The singing subsided as she turned. The moment I saw the face, I could see that it was her, and she looked at me with a sweet smile, and glimmering green eyes. "Metal..." she whispered gently to me._

_Seeing that, I smiled silently, reaching out a hand out to her cheek in order to affirm that this was real and not just some illusion. She closed her eyes as I felt her smooth, furry cheek; taking in my touch. Then she felt the hand to her cheek with her own hand, longingly. She was real..._

_"...Jill..." I uttered once again, before I closed my eyes. It was strange... but I was intensely relieved to see Jill, to feel her, knowing that she stood right before me. As I looked back at her, I reaffirmed this fact in my head._

_...she's... real..._

_"Metal..." she whispered again. "...I've been waiting for you...for so long."_

_"...you have...?" I uttered, as I smiled at her. "...to be honest... I really have missed you, Jill... I'm glad that you waited for me..."_

_She smiled up at me, and slowly pulled me closer to hold me gently, resting her head on my chest. I blinked, looking down at her, before I smiled a bit, wrapping my arms around her in a hug with the same gentleness she had._

_"...there are so many things I want to tell you..." she whispered, without letting me go. "...I don't know where to begin..."_

_"...that's alright..." I replied, closing my eyes. "...just say what you want to say, Jill..."_

_"...I want you to stay with me," she murmured. "I don't want you to leave again...it was too hard to leave you the first time...and I really did want to come back to Metropolis...I really did...but..." it seemed like she couldn't place the words to say._

_"...don't worry..." I responded, before looking down at her. "...I'll stand by your side, Jill... as long as you need me..."_

_She looked back up at me, and smiled again. Then her smile vanished away the instant something jumped out of the water and grabbed her. With a scream, she was dragged down underwater before my very eyes._

_I was utterly shocked, seeing her slip from my grasp like that. "...Jill!" I yelled in panic, quickly diving underwater, hoping to find Jill and...whatever had pulled Jill down underneath the water's surface._

_The moment I dived underwater, I found myself afloat in that void of darkness, diving down deeper and deeper until my feet suddenly stood on an invisible surface. At first glance, I could not find Jill, but after scanning the area with my eyes, I saw something...walking towards me._

_I blinked as I saw this figure, getting into a defensive stance. I still knew that Novagod could have sent that beastly apparition of me after me... likely, that was what caught Jill. Taking no chances, I held my ground._

_"Metal..." hissed a voice hauntingly. It wasn't Novagod's, so..._

_To my shock, I saw that it wasn't that creature. It was someone else. That long, beautiful, chocolate brown hair was all chopped off, one of the horns were chipped, and she looked at me with a deadly, cold gaze filled with black and red eyes. All around her was a dark aura._

_It was Jill._

_My eyes widened. "...J-Jill?" I uttered in shock, stepping back a bit in absolute disbelief. She only left my sight for a few minutes, and she already seemed like a completely different person. "...Jill... what happened?" I uttered, without breaking my stance. Even if this was Jill, I needed to stay focused._

_Jill didn't answer me. She opened up her hands to reveal her nails that were like claws, and she rushed at me, swiping those claw-like nails at me._

_Before she could hit me, I quickly stepped away from her, merely looking at her. "Jill, snap out of it!" I called, quickly looking around to see if there was anything controlling her actions. There was nothing I could see with my eyes. _

_I heard her hiss at me, seeing her jagged, monstrous teeth, and she came at me again with those claws._

_This time, however, instead of evading her attack, I decided to halt it altogether, by quickly grabbing hold of her wrists, keeping her at bay. "Jill, answer me! I know that you can talk; you said my name earlier, didn't you?" I said desperately. "Who did this to you?"_

_"...I did this to myself..." she hissed at me, pushing against me. "...because you left me, Metal..."_

_My eyes widened. "...you..." I uttered, before shaking my head, making sure that she didn't gain more ground. "...I had no choice, Jill! If I stayed, there's no telling what Novagod could have done to you! I stayed away for your sake!"_

_"...but I needed you..." she whispered, showing me those jagged teeth again. "...you were gone when I needed you..." It was getting harder and harder to fight her back as she kept pushing the power struggle against me._

_"...Jill... I didn't know..." I uttered, struggling to keep the power struggle going. If I didn't think of something quickly... "...I'm sorry, Jill... for not being there when you needed me..."_

_"…"sorry" doesn't change what happened to me..." But suddenly, I heard a loud gun fire, and Jill was knocked away from me, letting out a feral screech of pain. Then she collapsed onto the ground in motionless silence._

_I was too stunned to move, looking at Jill's body in utter shock. "...who..." I eventually uttered, without looking behind me._

_...it was Jill again..._

_No, it wasn't Jill. She looked exactly like Jill did now; except the jacket was black instead of green. And the eyes were red, while looking at me with a smirk. "I wouldn't be fooled by the old man's magic, if I were you... Toaster," she said. I knew it could only have been one other person with that kind of attitude._

_Callous._

_And she was holding a gun in her hand, which explained plenty enough to me what happened._

_"...Callous?" I blinked, before shaking my head. I had dealt with hearing Jill's voice, talking to Novagod and battling myself in these dreams..._

_...but seeing that witch in my dreams was a first._

_"...how did you get here?" I uttered in surprise._

_"Listen, it doesn't matter how I got here," Callous said, frowning. "But you'd better wake up now, because the house is on fire."_

_"...say what?" I uttered. "I..." Thinking quickly, I glanced down at my arm. "...I'll expect an explanation for this later!" I said, pinching my arm._

Metal woke up with a start, his eyes peeled on the door. Wasting no time, Metal jumped off the couch for the front door. An extreme wave of heat hit Metal as he opened the door, and downstairs was basked in a glow of red, while crackling sounds burst many times. It seemed that was Callous said was true...

The entire shop was burning in flames.

Metal flinched at that sight and looked back into the living room, wondering if anyone had even noticed the burning shop downstairs. _...Jill... Joy..._

Then he slammed the door shut behind him, a determined look about him as he looked back downstairs. "...I'll protect you... even if it costs me my life!" As he said that, he opened his hands, letting two small tendrils of liquid metal emerge from his palms. Even after five years of being a hybrid of man and machine, that ability had remained intact. With a resolute nod, Metal stormed down the stairs, spraying what flames he could see with liquid metal, to extinguish them.

The liquid metal was pretty successful putting out the flames, and little by little the shop grew dimmer and dimmer from the red glow, and the air cooled down.

Extinguishing the flames, Metal looked around him with a scowl, trying to find some clue as to who the perpetrator was. _...who would even think of doing this?_ he thought, as if he actually expected an answer to come to mind.

The entire shop was black with ash and burns, with the smell of poisoned charcoal in the air. Everything was wasted; the chairs, the tables, and counters, everything...

The only thing Metal managed to find was a lighter, implying that this, indeed, had been done by someone. Slowly he picked it up. Then Metal looked at it with intense hatred, tightening the grip on it with the strength of that hatred. "...whoever did this..." he hissed, finally crushing the lighter in his grip. "...you will pay."

Someone carefully came down the stairs, and became shocked at the sight of the shop's condition. _"What happened?"_ Snap uttered, gaping all around the room.

"...someone set the store on fire." Metal uttered coldly, before glancing at Snap. "...Jill and Joy... are they still asleep?"

_"...I don't know,"_ Snap spun around and headed back up the stairs. "_We need to check on them!"_

Nodding, Metal ran up the stairs after Snap.

The first room the two rushed to was Joy's room, and upon opening the door, they discovered something startling.

The bed was empty. No Joy, No Tails Doll. Empty.

Metal's eyes widened, as he slowly approached the empty bed. "...n-no..." he uttered, before collapsing to his knees. "...she's... gone...?"

_"...Jill!"_ Snap uttered, and he quickly left out the bedroom down the hall.

Quickly scrambling to his feet, Metal got one more glimpse of the bed before suddenly following Snap.

The two burst through Jill's bedroom door, and while they expected worse news, all was well. Jill was asleep in her bed, and what was so much more comforting was that Joy was wrapped up in her arms; both of them soundly asleep. Tails Doll sat on the pillow, and even if the plushie did not require sleep in any form, he was sleeping too.

_"...thank goodness," _Snap sighed, letting out all his worry in that sigh.

Metal sighed in relief as well, briefly supporting himself on the doorway from the weariness of his worry. _...they're safe..._ he thought, before calming down. "...Snap." he eventually uttered, walking away. "Do you think you could try and fix the shop up before Jill wakes up?"

_"...Fire damage is pretty hard to clean up overnight, Metal," _Snap answered, turning to follow him. _"We also don't know if the fire burned away any of the structural support. If it did, then it would be too dangerous to be up here; this building might collapse on itself..."_

"Well…at least try to find out if it's safe for Jill, Joy and Tails Doll to keep sleeping upstairs." Metal responded, without looking at Snap. "I'm going to find whoever decided to pull this stunt, and make him pay."

_"...alright,"_ Snap answered. He would nod, but his stiff neck forbade him to do that. Nonetheless, he followed Metal back down into the burnt shop, and Snap went around finding where the structural supports were; taking pictures in the process, as evidence for later.

With a mere nod, Metal stepped outside of the shop, glaring around him to see if he could find any trace of someone having left the shop after setting it ablaze. _...just who could have..._

No visible trail so far...but Metal then finally spotted a trail of footprints going off somewhere. Seeing that trail, Metal nodded. "...there we go." Nodding, Metal ran down along the path of the footprints. "Whoever did this... is going to pay."

Unknown to him, behind the shop, someone stood in hiding. _...that way leads to..._ this person thought, before quickly leaving.

It took a long walk for Metal. The footprints were leading quite a path out of town and into the woods. At some point, Metal finally encountered an end to these footprints, and up ahead, there was someone sitting against a tree, next to a campfire.

The fire revealed the face of Diablo.

"...you..." Before he could stop himself, Metal suddenly rushed right at Diablo, grabbing him by his throat and slamming him against a tree. "Why did you do it?" he snarled.

"...do what?" Diablo choked in his hold. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Don't lie to me!" Metal growled, as he clenched his free hand into a fist. "The footprints led right here! You set fire to Jill's shop, didn't you?"

"…I did what?" Diablo questioned in disbelief. "Listen! I've been sitting here all night. I didn't even know her house burst into flames!"

"Then explain to me why footprints coming from her burned shop led to you sitting by this fire!" Metal snarled, tightening the grip on Diablo's neck. "Did someone just happen to pass by, or something?"

Diablo gagged. "…I wouldn't-ACCH-be surprised. I know one or two soldiers that can turn invisible. EGH! He probably slipped past me when I wasn't paying attention!"

"...you would have heard something, if that was the case!" Metal snapped, as his free hand suddenly morphed into a blade. "Now, if you don't start talking, I swear, I will-"

Before he could go overboard, all of a sudden, someone grabbed the hedgehog and pulled him away from Diablo. Glaring behind him, Metal saw that it was Krieg. "...you...?"

"Now, now, there's no need for fighting amongst ourselves!" another voice laughed, as someone walked in on the scene, chewing on a lamb chop. "We're all friends here, aren't we?" Spiel chuckled.

Diablo growled at the sight of these two, although he was relieved that they pulled Metal off of him.

"...let go of me!" Metal growled, trying to get out of Krieg's grip, albeit to no avail. "This bastard-"

"If you're that worried about the shop burning down, you should probably go and fix it up, before Jill notices." Spiel commented, taking a large bite of the lamb chop he held.

Metal shot pig an astounded look. "...how did you-"

"Krieg told me about it." Spiel said with a nod. "He heard the sounds of fire, and heard that you put out the flames, too." Then, he patted Metal's shoulder with a smirk. "Krieg's gonna take you home, and you can fix up the shop a bit. I'll tell King that some jackass decided to play with fire over at Jill's, alright?"

"Do you mind?" Diablo complained irritably, folding his arms. "I was having a nice little camp out here…" He was clearly implying that he wanted all of them to leave him alone.

Glancing at him, Spiel chuckled. "Right, right. Krieg, take him away."

Nodding, Krieg began pulling Metal away, who only glared at the leopard, but didn't fight against the warthog.

"...heh..." Spiel chuckled, once Metal and Krieg were out of sight. "...what do you make of that hedgehog, Diablo?" he mused, as he leaned against a tree, merely looking at where the two had vanished to.

"He's rash, that's for sure…" Diablo murmured, rubbing his neck where Metal had him moments earlier.

"Really headstrong, too..." Spiel chuckled, before glancing at Diablo. "...Kiri's in bed, I take it?"

"Yes. She should be," Diablo grumbled. "But sometimes the girl has a habit of sneaking out of bed…"

"To play with bugs and unsuspecting soldiers who are up past curfew, I take it." Spiel chuckled. "Well, you know how kids can be better than me; I like 'em, but I haven't got the time to raise 'em."

Diablo looked quite impatient with Spiel. "Don't you have anything else to do?"

"Not really." Spiel chuckled, as he began walking off. "I was sleeping until Krieg told me about the fire..." Before he vanished into the dark of the night, the pig glanced at Diablo with a wicked smirk. "...tell Oblivion that I said hi." As he began laughing loudly, he walked off.

"...sure," he murmured. Then he felt the presence of someone behind him, and he turned around to meet this person.

It was a pure snow white Mobian unicorn. Her long, curly white hair dragged down to the ground, with a sparkling beauty to it. Even in the darkness of the early morning, she could be seen clearly. She looked at Diablo with mystical, amethyst eyes.

Diablo sighed. "…guess you'd better do it, Oblivion," he said. "Can't let anyone find out, can we?"

The unicorn walked over and gently placed her hands on Diablo's head, while they began to glow, and she closed her eyes in concentration. After awhile, Diablo started to feel woozy, up to a point where he fell over in a knocked out state.

Afterward, the unicorn turned and disappeared into the woods.

* * *

"...ungh?" Hearing hammering on the door, King sat up from the bed he was sleeping in, rubbing his eyes. "Kkh... who the hell knocks at this hour...?" he grumbled, glancing to his side.

The knocking wasn't what woke her, but it was King's sudden movement that did, and she cracked her eyes open a tad. Then she heard the knocking. "Mmmmh…" she mumbled tiredly. "...who is it?"

"...I dunno..." King murmured, as he slowly got out of bed, rubbing his eyes again. "...but whoever it is better have a good reason to be awake right now..." As he walked towards the door, King yawned loudly.

Tasha didn't get out of bed, for she wasn't quite sure if it was a good idea to be caught like this; although, she managed to get a decent view of the front door just through the opened bedroom door.

"...alright, who is it?" King grumbled, opening the door up only to step back in surprise when he noticed who was behind the door. "Spiel?"

"Sorry for intruding at this hour, King." the pig hummed, leaning against the doorway as he munched on the remains of his lamb chop. "But I got some news that is sure to wake you up."

King blinked, as he folded his arms. "...and what would that news be?"

"Just a little factoid, regarding Jill's shop," Spiel answered, averting eye contact with the tiger. "...someone set it on fire."

Hearing that, King's eyes widened. "...what did you say?"

Tasha sat up in the bed in shock. Course, this meant that Spiel could see her, but now she wasn't worried about that.

Glancing past King when he heard movement, Spiel raised an eyebrow. "...well, now; I don't think you've introduced me to your friend, King." he mused.

"Don't stray from the subject!" King yelled, giving Spiel a death-glare. "Who did it?"

"That ain't important right now." Spiel chuckled, as he began walking off. "What's important is making sure that the house isn't a living death-trap... I'd hate for Jill and her daughter to get hurt, y'see."

"...since when did you start caring about her, Spiel?" King snarled, which got the pig's attention.

"...now that's just cold, King." Spiel chuckled, before looking back at the tiger. "I always care for the well-being of kids and their mothers." Then, he began walking off. "Later."

Once she made sure that Spiel was gone, Tasha hopped out of bed. "Should we make sure Jill and Joy are alright?" she asked.

"...yeah, we'd better." King nodded, shooting Tasha a glance. "You ready?"

"Yes. Let's go," Tasha said, leaving out the door quickly.

As Tasha ran out, King glanced towards where Spiel had left. _...that guy... what is he playing at?_ Gritting his teeth, King followed Tasha.

* * *

_"Metal!" _Snap was standing outside the shop when Krieg brought the hedgehog there, and Snap looked uneasy.

"...do not worry." Krieg uttered, before letting go of Metal. "He is safe." With a nod, Krieg quickly ran off.

"...hrm..." Frowning, Metal brushed dust off his arms, looking at Snap. "Is the house safe?" he immediately inquired.

_"Maybe, but I don't know how long it'll hold,"_ Snap said. _"Some of the supports got singed, and are even cracked a bit..." _it looked like Snap was trying to stay calm. _"...it's not safe Metal. We have to get them out before the house collapses,"_ he said.

"...it'll hold." Metal uttered, as he placed a hand on Snap's shoulder. "Quickly; show me which support beams are weakened. I'll repair them as best I can."

_"...alright." _

Snap turned around and took Metal inside, leading him past the counter of the shop into the back room, where there was a hole in the wall. A plank of wood was inside the wall, and it looked crisp black and chipped; like Snap said, it looked ready to break_. "Here's one of them,"_ he said.

"I see." Nodding, liquid metal seeped from his palms, and instantly shot up along the brittle support beam, covering it from top to bottom. It created a silvery coating around it that immediately solidified, securing it. "...I won't let some goddamn pyro destroy her home..." he hissed in a spiteful tone.

Snap was a bit shaken by Metal's behavior, but since he had a method of fixing the support beams... _"...okay, let me show you where the others are,"_ he murmured, leaving out the back room.

Outside, Tasha and King just made it down the street where the shop was, and when they finally arrived, Tasha gasped at the ugly sight of the floor below through the windows. "Oh my!"

"...damn... someone really wanted Jill outta business..." King uttered, and then he noticed several spots around the floor; large, silvery piles of metal were scattered about. _...Metal... _Thinking that, he nodded. "...we need to check if everyone's okay inside of there."

"Right," Tasha wasted no time walking inside with King behind her, just in time to see Snap and Metal come out from the back room. All of them were a bit surprised to see each other.

_"King? Tasha?"_ Snap uttered.

"We came as soon as we heard," Tasha said. "Are Jill and Joy alright?"

"...they're still asleep." Metal uttered. "I don't think they even noticed that a fire had broken out down here."

"...you put it out, then." King presumed, folding his arms.

"Indeed." Metal nodded, before giving Snap a nod. "Where's the next damaged support beam?"

_"Over here,"_ Snap said, pointing to another hole in the wall that revealed another support beam.

"...would you need any help cleaning up, then?" Tasha offered.

"...that would be very appreciated." Metal nodded, as he approached the next support beam, giving it the same treatment as the last one. "Though, I doubt that we can hide the fact that a fire erupted here when Jill and Joy wake up..."

"...well, we'll try, at least!" King said with a nod, before looking at Tasha. "Do you think you could begin helping Metal and Snap with cleaning up here? I'm bringing in the cavalry."

"...cavalry?" Metal uttered.

"You know; Queen, Ripper, Miser, Sage, maybe Hunter and Wiper, too." King replied. "The more we are, the quicker we can get the shop cleaned up!"

_"I'll go get a broom so you can start sweeping some of the ashes, Tasha,"_ Snap said, going off to get one.

"Alright," Tasha then turned to King. "Hurry back," she said to him.

Seeing that, King took on a flustered look, nodding to Tasha. "R-right!" he said, heading for the door. "I'll be right-" The moment he turned around, he managed to slip on one of the puddles of liquid metal lying about, landing face-first against the floor.

"...you alright, there?" Metal uttered.

"...yeah! Never been better!" King said, as he quickly got on his feet, wiping the silvery goop off him. "I meant to do that!" Then he hurriedly made his way to the door, making sure not to make too much noise.

Metal hummed, before he glanced at Tasha. _...someone who can make even King react like that... can it really change people to that extent...?_

Tasha cleared her throat nervously, noticing that Metal was staring at her, "Well then...let's get to work, shall we?"

* * *

"Mama?"

Jill felt that she was being shaken awake, and after a minute, she finally opened her eyes. Joy and Tails Doll were looking down at her. Glancing out the window, she saw that it was the morning, since sunlight crept in through the window.

"Mama," Joy said, stealing her attention again. "...I smell something funny."

Jill wondered if Joy wanted to play a weird game, and then she took a whiff of the air. She could smell something too... and it was a pretty unpleasant smell. Getting out of bed, she hurried down the hall to the living room to check on Metal, only to discover that he wasn't there. Snap was gone too.

_...where did they run off to?_ Jill thought, while she also kept wondering what that bothersome smell was.

_"...hn? Big Bro and Snap aren't here?"_ Tails Doll uttered, as he fluttered out after Jill, looking around. _"...maybe you should check downstairs, Jill. Me and Joy can stay up here for the time being."_

Jill nodded in agreement, and turned toward the door downstairs. When she felt the knob, she noticed it was vaguely warm... not only that, but the smell was a bit thicker, to a point where she could tell what the smell was.

It smelled like gasoline...and burnt wood.

Afraid of what she would find, she hesitated in opening the door, and carefully climbed down the stairs.

As she walked down the stairs, Jill noticed that along the walls a few dark patches of burnt wood were still visible, although some parts of the walls were also slightly wet; as if someone had tried cleaning up the place with water.

Once she reached the bottom of the stairs, she'd saw that her shop, while in a state of disrepair, still seemed more inviting than it had done immediately after what had transpired the preceding night. A few patches of black were still visible across the walls and floor, but a lot of the store had been cleaned up, or simply rebuilt with a silvery shimmer.

What was surprising, however, was that a lot of the GUN Agents, and a few others, were in the store, most of them fast asleep. While the likes of King, Ripper, Miser and Metal were asleep, Queen, Tasha, Sage and Snap were still awake, just noticing Jill coming down the stairs.

_"Oh, Jill...you're awake,"_ Snap remarked uneasily.

Jill could only gawk at her shop, wondering what could have done this.

"...morning..." Queen uttered, as she rubbed the back of her head. "...to be honest, we'd have hoped that you wouldn't wake up just yet..."

_...Jill... you might wanna sit down. _Sage thought with a slight sigh, before she glanced at the ones sleeping. _A lot happened while you were sleeping._

Jill began coughing a bit as she took a seat.

"...Jill, are you alright?" Tasha asked. Jill nodded in reply, but then she let out another cough.

_"Hm..." _Snap tried to think of why Jill would be coughing like that. _"...I think the smoke rising from the flames down here went upstairs, and she may have inhaled some of it while she was sleeping."_

Jill jumped when she heard that. _Flames?_

_...yeah... _Sage thought, as she looked at Jill. _Apparently, someone thought that it would be a great idea to set your entire store ablaze last night, Jill. Though, thankfully, things turned out a LOT better than they could have been... thanks to Metal putting out the fire before it could spread to the second floor._

_...Metal?_ Jill looked at Metal amongst the sleeping pile of people. _...did you find out who did it? _

_I haven't had the chance to look into it, yet._ Sage thought, before sighing. _I was going to do it when we finished cleaning the place up... but man, Metal really went out of his way to help out. The fire had damaged some of the support beams, and Metal simply reinforced them, insisting that he repair them rather than having to wake you and Joy up..._

Jill's gaze didn't pull away from Metal. _...he did that?_

_Mhm. And after that, he worked himself to the bone to get the place cleaned up._ Sage nodded. _Tasha and Snap suggested that he should rest... actually, only about half an hour ago, when I think about it._

That just made Jill stare at Metal in admiration.

"...is Sage talking to Jill, telepathically?" Tasha whispered to Queen, hoping to clarify her confusion on these series of expressions from the two that she saw.

"...indeed." Queen whispered back, as she folded her arms. "To this day, Sage remains the only one who can actually communicate with Jill... though, with some aid from Sage, Jill can vocalize her thoughts, too... but it takes its toll on Sage."

"...I wonder what she sounds like," Tasha murmured, just as Jill started coughing again.

"...a lot of us do." Queen muttered, as she folded her arms.

_...hey, are you gonna be okay, Jill?_ Sage mused, as she tilted her head.

_...I'll probably be fine if I get some fresh air,_ Jill responded, thankfully as the coughing subsided. Then Joy occurred to her mind; she may have inhaled some of the fumes as well.

Mother's instinct was pretty spot on. All of them could hear little coughs coming down the stairs as Joy stepped down them. "Mama, it's kinda hard to breathe," Joy croaked, and she started coughing again. Jill rose to her feet and went to her daughter in concern.

_...both of you should probably go outside for a while._ Sage thought with a slight nod, as she glanced around her. _We'll clean the rest of the place, and then get rid of the smell._

"...you're planning on sending them outside?" Queen mused, as she folded her arms. "I'll accompany them, if that's the case, Sage."

Jill gave Queen and Sage a thankful nod of appreciation, and she whisked up Joy in her arms to carry her outside.

Nodding, Queen looked at Sage, Tasha and Snap. "Keep at it." she said, before following Jill and Joy outside.

Letting out a small sigh, Sage rubbed her forehead. "...hoo... we've still got a lot of work ahead of us."

"Let's hop to it then," Tasha said, picking back up her broom.

* * *

_"So, you've changed quite a bit over the years, as I can see," And Callous' voice had also changed; to a point where it sounded very similar to Jill's. It was a bit off-putting if you ask me..._

_"...five years will do that to most people." I responded as I folded my arms, looking at Callous. I still didn't know why she was here... but one thing came first. "...I never thought that I'd say this... but thank you, for warning me about the fire."_

_Callous hardly made a response to the thanks; typical of her. "What I'm curious about is why you came back, Toaster," she went on, strutting around me._

_"...it's been years." I responded, keeping my gaze focused on Callous; even though she had saved my life and warned me of the fire, I needed to be careful with her. "I figured that I should see how everyone was doing."_

_Callous shrugged. "I guess that's a reasonable enough answer not to pester you after." She kept walking around me. I couldn't help but feel suspicious about it. "Interesting dream you had, by the way," she remarked._

_"...it was certainly unique; I haven't had a dream like that before." I replied, still watching Callous circle me. "...what I'm wondering about, myself, is how you managed to enter said dream... and save me."_

_"Not too hard to jump into your head," Callous answered. "The 3 year old managed to do it anyway..."_

_...she had a point, there. "...but at least she has a physical form... I thought that you had settled down within-" Asking that, however, brought another question to mind. "...don't tell me that you're planning on exploiting Jill's body when you get the chance? I've had my fill of dealing with you, even if it was five years ago."_

_Callous sighed, and actually stopped walking, looking directly at me. "...listen, it's not exactly what you think. I've actually been trying to protect those two since you abandoned them, you know. The times I took over Jill were pretty desperate measures in her case."_

_Hearing that, I couldn't help but blink. "...you... protected them?" I uttered, before shaking my head. "...why? Don't tell me that you... actually came to terms with your current state of being?" After the stunt she had played back at Goddess' castle five years ago, it was hard to believe that Callous actually could change for the better._

_Callous scowled. "It wasn't for Jill, you damn pea-brain, if that's what you're thinking..." She actually turned away from me and became silent. "...but if Joy is hers, that technically makes her my kid too..." she finally murmured._

_Once more, I blinked. "...for Joy..." I uttered. That girl never ceased to amaze me... "...then I presume that stopping Novagod from killing me was for Joy, as well?" I guessed._

_"Well duh," Callous answered surly, looking back at me again. "And besides, I'm supposed to be the one to use the manipulative, freakish illusions, not him. Still, I'll admit that it was entertaining to watch the look on your face when Jill came at you like that, but you know..."_

_Gritting my teeth, I looked away from Callous. "...please don't remind me." I muttered, folding my arms. "...besides, I doubt that you'll actually help me across; you'd rather watch me trudge across, wouldn't you?"_

_"Yeah, pretty much," Callous chuckled at that. "You're the only one who can prove just how tough you are, after all." She stopped again, turning away from me. "...even if it was just an illusion," she said. "...she really has been waiting for you."_

_"...it's been five years. I can't say that it'd be farfetched to believe that." I replied, looking away from Callous._

_"...she's grateful to you for what you did about the fire, as well," Callous continued._

_"...she is?" I hummed, still not looking at Callous. "...that's... good."_

_"...Heh, if only you knew the way you made her feel," Callous chuckled, actually walking away from me this time toward the darkness._

_Quickly, I glanced back at her, suddenly pursuing her. "...wait! What do you mean?" I called, hoping that I could get an answer from her before she vanished._

_Callous just laughed. "Instead of asking me, you should ask Jill about it." And she vanished within a puff of black smoke, leaving me._

_...damn cryptics._

_I folded my arms. Would it really be right... asking her about how she feels about me? Did I really want to intrude on her privacy that much?_

_As I thought this, another thing came to mind; something that I hadn't managed to think of until this moment..._

_...where the hell was Novagod at this point?_

_I looked around me, but there wasn't a hint of Novagod anywhere... nor did I hear his voice bother me; ever since the dream I had earlier come to think of it. It was certainly odd..._

_...and suspicious._

_With a slight frown, I closed my eyes. ...are you just hiding... Novagod?_

Slowly, Metal blinked while he eventually woke up, catching a glimpse of Tasha, Sage and Snap cleaning up the shop. _...still at work... but where's Queen...? _he thought, without uttering a word.

Snap heaved a bucket of black water across the room, setting it down by the front door with a huff. That's when he happened to glance over and see that Metal was awake. "_Oh...Metal,"_ he murmured. _"...good morning."_

"He's awake, already?" Sage hummed, as she glanced at the hedgehog with a curious glance. "That didn't take long."

"...mhrm..." Sitting up, Metal rubbed his head, before glancing around him. "...where did Queen go?" he asked.

"She accompanied Jill and Joy outside. Snap said that they may have inhaled some of the smoke from the fire while they were asleep, and they went out to get some fresh air..." Tasha answered.

_"...so Jill knows about the fire,"_ Snap added guiltily.

"...I... see..." Metal uttered, before he looked down at the floor.

"...hey, now, don't look so down, Metal." Sage said in an encouraging tone. "If it hadn't been for you, things could have gone a lot worse. I'm sure that Jill's really grateful for you helping out."

"...really?" Metal blinked, as he glanced at the three.

"Even if she couldn't speak, I could tell that she really appreciated what you did," Tasha said, smiling. "You did more than just save her home, Metal. You saved their lives."

Hearing that, Metal managed a small smile, before he got on his feet. "...do you guys need any help with cleaning up?" he uttered.

"Hey, you've already worked overtime in trying to help out, Metal. Try taking it easy." Sage said with a chuckle, before glancing at Tasha and Snap. "Let's wake up King, Ripper and Miser, instead; they've been taking a much longer break than Metal has." she said with a nod.

_"You could use a breath of fresh air yourself,"_ Snap suggested to Metal.

"...really?" Metal uttered, before nodding. "...I see. Excuse me, then..." Slowly, Metal walked out of the store, yawning just a bit as he stretched out.

"...hm... he's really come a long way, that Metal..." Sage chuckled.

"...are Metal and Jillian former mates?" Tasha suddenly asked, curiously.

"PPFWHA?" Hearing that actually threw Sage completely off guard, as she looked at Tasha with a stunned look. "Wha- how- when- why would you ask about that?" she managed to utter, before quickly calming down.

Tasha shrugged off Sage's outrageous response to her question. "Well, they seem to brighten up around each other, and even the mention of each other has some effect on the two of them..."

Sage could only look at Tasha with a baffled look, before she eventually shook her head. "They're just good friends, Tasha." she said.

"...if you say so," Tasha said. "Although, I can't help but think that it looked like the way Twi-I mean, King and I...uh..." Tasha suddenly felt a great need to be quiet now.

Sage blinked, as she glanced between Tasha and the sleeping King. "...I see..." she hummed, folding her arms. _...though, with what Jill found out yesterday..._ she thought.

_"At any rate, let's go ahead and wake them up," _Snap said, going over to start shaking them.

* * *

"Queen, how come you and everybody were at Mama's shop?" Joy asked, as Jill walked her down the road by her hand. Glancing down at Joy, Queen hummed, before she glanced at Jill, with a look wondering if she should tell Joy about the fire or not. Jill looked too thoughtful to notice Queen give her that inquiring look. No doubt she was still thinking about the fact that Metal saved their lives, and tried so much as to save her home as well. Maybe just about Metal in general...

Queen hummed again when she noticed this, folding her arms. "...well, King and Metal figured that we should try cleaning the store up before you and Jill would wake up; as a surprise." she replied.

"Really?" Joy answered in pure astonishment. Then she looked guilty. "Did we spoil the supwise Metoh and King made, then?" she asked.

"Well, you came down a bit earlier than expected..." Queen hummed, looking at Joy with a slight smile. "...but you didn't spoil the surprise."

Joy smiled to some relief that they didn't spoil it.

Jill took them down to the pub for breakfast; since her home wasn't the best environment to be in. Upon entering, they walked in to all of the GUN agents sitting around the counter, and Ani making food as usual.

"…Jill?" Cal uttered, just noticing them come in, which attracted the attention of the other agents.

"Nice of you to notice us, as well." Queen noted dryly, as she folded her arms. "How's the food?"

"...good?" Newt replied with the same questionable response as everyone else.

"…what are you three doing here?" Boomer asked, as Jill, Joy and Queen took their seats.

"King and Metoh had supwise, but we came too early," Joy answered. "It was also hard to breathe in there."

None of them could understand what Joy was saying.

"...it's a long story." Queen insisted. "If you want more details, you should ask Sage later."

"...really..." Wiper hummed, as he simply looked at the three.

"…well, do you want some breakfast Jill?" Ani asked, although Jill didn't answer right away. She was spacing out. "…Jill?" Jill finally heard Ani, and nodded when she remembered what she asked. Ani just thought she was acting weird, but she went to make more food anyway.

Queen looked away from Jill after watching that. "...I heard that Sonia showed you around." she hummed, before glancing at Natal. "How did that go?"

"Well, it went by alright. Sonia did invite Wiper to meet her later today in the arena." Natal mused, as she tapped her chin in thought.

That actually caught Jill's attention, looking over in interest. Charmy look pretty interested too, and he grinned. "Oh really?" he chuckled at that.

"She wanted me there around the evening." Wiper hummed, as he rested his head on his knuckles. "I suppose she wants a spar..."

"...sure it's just that, Wiper?" Newt hummed, as he glanced at Wiper, who merely glanced back at him with a puzzled look.

Ani tried to hold in her snickering, while she finished cooking Jill and Joy's food and set their plates out to them. She wasn't quite sure if Queen wanted to eat...but just in case, she went to make some more. After Jill cut some of the pancakes into bite-size pieces for Joy, she looked back over at Wiper. Why was Sonia interested in spending time with him anyway? Not meant in a bad way toward Wiper at all, but it was... peculiar of Sonia.

"Did she happen to say anything else on the matter, Wiper?" Charmy asked, sipping his coffee.

"...no, not really." Wiper mused, hissing. "Right after I told her that I'd come to the arena, she walked home, presumably."

"Mmmm! These are yummy Ani!" Joy commented at the side, holding up a slice of goopy pancake on her fork. Then the syrup dripped onto her dress. "Oopsie."

Ani laughed. "Glad you like them Joy."

At that point, they all suddenly heard knocking at the door. "Hello? Is the place open?" they heard a female voice call from outside.

Jill perked up. She recognized that voice.

"Hang on!" Ani called, wiping her hands on her apron while she swerved around the counter toward the door. Then she unlocked it and opened it up for whoever was standing outside.

As it turned out, it was Ruki, the same scorpion girl Jill beat during the tournament two days ago. Seeing the door open, she had a thankful smile on her face. "Lucky me, huh?" she said, walking in. "I've heard really great things about this place... what's the menu like, I wonder?"

"Here, have a look for yourself," Ani said, coincidentally having such a menu in her hands to offer to Ruki.

"Ah, thanks..." Ruki hummed, examining the menu in the careful grip of her pincers. Then she noticed Jill sitting by the counter. "...oh, if it ain't Jill!" she said, before waving to her. "Hiya!"

Jill sent back a smile and a small wave. Joy leaned over, hearing that new lady call her mom by her first name. "Who is it, Mama?" she asked curiously.

"Oh, is that her kid?" Ruki smiled at Joy. "It really shows... what's her name?" she eventually inquired, glancing at Ani for an answer.

"Her name's Joy," Ani answered.

"M-hm!" Joy looked at Ruki's pincers in wide-eyed amazement, and smiled as she made her hands like pincers. "You got claws!" she said. Normally, kids would probably be afraid of Ruki's pincers, but certainly not her.

Of course...she had seen stranger things.

Seeing that, Ruki chuckled, looking at her own pincers. "Glad that you like them!" she said.

"...hm..." Queen watched Ruki take a seat, finally deciding on what she would eat. _...she's one of the more notable newcomers..._ she thought, turning away._ If I'm not mistaken..._

"So Queen...did you want anything to eat?" Ani asked, just to be sure before she took Ruki's order.

Glancing up at Ani, Queen shook her head. "A cup of tea will be enough, Ani." she said.

"All right then," Ani said. Then she turned to Ruki. "Have you decided on what you'd like?" she asked politely.

"Yep!" Ruki nodded to Ani. "I'd like a pair of fried eggs, sunny side up, please!"

"Comin' right up," Ani answered, taking the menu back from Ruki and hurrying over behind the counter to start some more cooking.

The butler doors opened up and Hunter stepped out, yawning.

Ani noticed him. "Well, it's about time you got up," she said, hands on hips. Hunter just ignored her, sitting down at the counter next to Jill. He looked exhausted with his head against the counter...almost as if he had stayed up all night.

Natal breifly glanced at him, before returning to her pancakes. "...someone sure seems tired..."

"Were you staying up all night again, Dad?" Ani groaned, seeing the state her dad was in.

"...yes, I did, but I was also helping out Sage with some cleaning early this morning," Hunter replied, which was when he eyed Jill at that point. She understood what he was talking about...and Jill also appreciated that Hunter didn't say any more in front of Joy. But he did continue with something else. "Ani," he muttered. "...tonight is a full moon."

Ani stopped when she heard that.

"...that time of the month, already?" Queen mused. "...seems like you'll need to close the pub early today, Ani."

"...hn?" Blinking, Ruki glanced from Hunter to Ani. "What're you talking about? What's so special about tonight?"

Hunter slumped over the counter as he turned to Ruki. "Let's just say, things will run a lot better if we stay away from the full moon."

Joy was just as curious as Ruki was. "What'sa matter? You ascared of the full moon?"

Hunter shrugged. "Something like that..." Rumors still flew around about him and Ani being werewolves; especially around Halloween time, when the rumor seemed popular to the holiday spirits. The last thing he needed was to scare the 3 year old about it; or tell the newcomer about it for that matter.

"...seems kinda weird..." Ruki murmured, before shrugging. "...well, I suppose it'd be for the best... maybe."

_Yes, it is, _Ani thought, returning to her cooking.

"...Jill, is something the matter?" Charmy suddenly asked, raising an eye brow at her. "You haven't touched your food."

Jill jumped, and realized that she really didn't touch her food. She shook her hand nervously and tried to smile, gesturing that nothing was wrong, but it didn't stop her from turning a little red afterward.

Glancing at Jill, Wiper couldn't help but raise an eyebrow as well. _...right..._ he thought, before he returned his attention to his breakfast.

Charmy recognized that kind of look, and he looked at her with a wide-eyed stare. _...you can't be serious Jill...have you found someone already? _he thought. He wasn't sure if his guess was right, so he didn't speak his thoughts aloud.

Joy finished her meal with content. Jill took another look at her food, writing something on a napkin afterward and taking Joy with her to the door.

"Jill?" Ani said, though it was a little late since Jill and Joy were gone outside. Then Ani looked at the napkin. "...sorry, but I guess I'm not so hungry this morning," she read aloud.

"I wonder what's eating her," Boomer murmured, looking at the door where the two left.

"...hm..." Queen rose from her seat. "...hold the tea, Ani." she said, before she headed out after the two of them.

"...huh. Suddenly, everyone's leaving..." Ruki uttered, before she folded her arms. "Pretty suspicious..."

"MAMA!"

That kind of scared scream really stole everyone's attention, and a good portion of them jumped up from their seats. Hunter was the first out the front doors, allowing him to stumble upon a startling sight.

Jill was on the ground, clutching to Joy. While Joy looked perfectly unharmed, a knife was impaled in Jill's arm, and she looked to be in a lot of pain from it. Still, she held tightly and securely to her daughter, making sure that nothing had happened to her.

"Jill!" Quickly, Queen rushed to kneel at Jill's side. "...damn... who could have..." she muttered.

As everyone else stormed out after Hunter, all of them saw Jill with the knife in her arm. "...holy..." Ruki uttered, before shaking her head. "What happened?"

"...I don't know who, but someone threw that knife on purpose!" Queen called, without glancing at the group. _...and I think our assailant aimed for Joy... _she thought.

Charmy took a quick survey around the area. There was no one around; not visible anyway. But if Espio's teachings had anything to say, this was assassin work from from the hidden shadows. In other words, the perpetrator was currently hiding or already made a break for it.

"Mama! Are you okay?" Joy asked, all shaken up by the knife in Jill's arm. Jill nodded to reassure her scared daughter, but as she sat up from the ground, she cringed. Not only did she have the knife in her arm, but now there were scapes all up her back from skidding across the road in an effort to pull Joy out of harm's way.

"Come here Joy; let's let your mom get up," Hunter said, taking Joy in his arms while Boomer and Cal helped Jill up.

Gritting her teeth, Queen got on her feet, looking around with a frown. "...get them inside." she eventually said. "I have a feeling that our hidden attacker isn't done, yet."

Hunter carried Joy inside immediately, and Jill could walk inside by herself; at least she hadn't been crippled or anything.

"...how could someone even think about attacking either of them?" Charmy questioned angrily, just as the doors of the pub closed, leaving Charmy and Queen outside.

"...I have a hunch." Queen growled, as she clenched her hands into fists. "... we'll need to stand guard here." Then, she glanced at Charmy. "Because if I'm right... he's not done yet."

Charmy nodded, looking around. "We're going to have to tell King about this as well," he muttered.

"...yes." Queen nodded, as she glanced to the side. _...both the fire... and that attack... they must be connected._ she thought.

* * *

Someone sat on a log in the woods, picking off the petals to a flower they had in their hand. This someone happened to be that snow white unicorn that had been referred to as Oblivion by Diablo. Her beautiful, sparkling, white hair drooped over her shoulder and still down to the ground as she picked these petals off of this flower, minding her own business.

"Aah, there you are!" The silence was cut through by a low chuckle, as someone approached the unicorn from behind. "I was wondering where you had wandered off to." It was Spiel, who held not only a turkey leg in his right hand, but a large bag hoisted over his left shoulder. "You haven't forgotten, have you? It's been two weeks since you saw him last." he chuckled.

"I'm not the one who forgets things, am I?" Oblivion answered, merely continuing to pick those petals off withing paying much attention to Spiel.

"Of course not." Spiel chuckled. "But, I'd have expected that you'd come to remind me... after all, if we didn't go, Charon would die of hunger, wouldn't he?"

"...yes, he would," Oblivion murmured. "...and we wouldn't want that."

"No, we wouldn't." Spiel chuckled, before he began walking off. "Come along, now; I bet that he's missed seeing you."

Oblivion rose from her seat on the log, with a faint smile on her lips.

As the two walked through the woods, the only sound breaking through the silence was Spiel taking bites out of his turkey leg. "...it's a good thing that no one else knows about Charon, wouldn't you agree, Oblivion?" Spiel chuckled after a while. "Just think of what could befall him if someone like Diablo or Hex learned of his existence."

"I would have to erase their memories then, as usual," Oblivion responded. "...anything to protect him."

"How noble." Spiel chuckled. "I'm just thankful that I'm your number one man for getting him provisions; I'd rather not experience that power of yours." Soon enough, the two emerged from the woods, as Spiel stopped, looking ahead of him. "...there it is."

Right in front of them was a cave entrance, and in front of the cave's mouth was an old, rotted sign, with faded text that once read out "DO NOT ENTER". With a chuckle, Spiel placed the bag down on the ground. "You know the way from here, Oblivion." he chuckled.

Oblivion nodded. "Just keep your eye on Diablo with all the crazy things he's been trying to do lately..." she said to him, as she took the bag.

"Oh, like the stunt he pulled with Jill's house early this morning?" Spiel replied. "Sometimes, I wonder who has the bigger influence on the other; Diablo, or Kiri." With a chuckle, he folded his arms, before glancing away. "Tell Charon that I said hi." he hummed, before walking off.

Oblivion couldn't pick up the sack because it was too big for her, but she managed to tug it along the ground as she entered inside the cave.

While walking through the caves at first, she could only hear the sound of wind blowing into the cave, venturing deeper and deeper into it. Soon, however, heavy breathing intermixed itself with the sound of the wind.

"...who's... there...?" a brutally low voice growled, which echoed throughout the cave.

"It's me," Oblivion answered back.

"...Oblivion..." the voice growled. "...it's been... too long..."

"...it has," Oblivion muttered. "I hope you are doing well..."

"...as well as I can be..." Soon, Oblivion would see a pair of eyes looking at her from the darkness of the cave; a pair of red, reptilian, almost demonic eyes.

Oblivion was not afraid of these eyes, no. She looked back at them with her own amethyst eyes, longingly. "I brought you food, Charon," she said, stepping aside to show him the bag.

"...food..." At that point, Charon stepped out from the darkness, eyeing the bag with a hungry look.

As it turned out, it was another Mobian. It was a draconic creature, with an elongated, serpentine head, dark scales covering his entire body, and a pair of wings that had been pressed against his back, due to chains surrounding his entire body; except the arms, which were free. "...I've hungered for food..." he growled, before looking up at Oblivion.

Oblivion unraveled the bag for this creature so that he could eat. Once she did, he immediately ran to the opened bag, hungrily consuming every piece of food he could get his hands on. "...delicious..." he murmured in between bites.

Oblivion looked in sympathy at this creature as he ate. The poor thing, starving in here...like a caged animal...

After a while, he stopped eating, letting out a small sigh. "...Oblivion..." he uttered, before looking up at the unicorn. "...when can this game of hiding end...?"

"...I don't know," Oblivion answered sadly. Then she set a hand on his shoulder. "...but one day, you won't have to hide anymore...I promise..."

"...Oblivion..." With a light growl, Charon closed his eyes. "...thank you... for looking out for me..."

"...anything for you," Oblivion replied.

Before Oblivion knew it, Charon suddenly grabbed her in a hug. "...stay for a while..." he uttered. "...I've longed for company..."

Oblivion hugged him closely. "I will stay as long as you need me," she whispered.

"...thank you... Oblivion..." Charon uttered.

* * *

Charmy found the shop at last, and stopped when he saw its condition. "Whoa…" he muttered. Instead of standing there and gawking at it though, he went ahead inside. "King!" Charmy said, hoping that he would be in here.

Thankfully, by this time, King, Ripper and Miser were awake, as all three of them glanced at Charmy. "...what's up?" King uttered.

Metal walked down the stairs, holding a bucket of water in his hands, before he looked at Charmy with a curious glance.

"There's something you need to know," Charmy said, looking serious. "Jill and Joy were attacked right as they left the pub."

Instantly, the bucket fell to the floor with a thud, with Metal looking at Charmy in petrification.

"...are you serious?" King yelled, as he quickly approached Charmy. "Wha- how- who did it?"

"More importantly, are they safe?" Miser yelled, as she stepped by King as well.

"They're alright; Jill managed to keep Joy safe at the expense of a knife in her arm," Charmy answered. "But this attack was done by the hand of a hidden assassin, and Queen suspected who might have done it, but we don't have any solid evidence."

"...where are they now?" Metal uttered, confronting Charmy with a cold glare. "Tell me."

"They're at the pub, Metal," Charmy answered, making no reaction to the glare Metal gave.

Gritting his teeth, Metal quickly stormed past Charmy, heading out towards the pub.

"...kkh... first the fire, and now this..." King muttered, as he folded his arms. "...someone's really got something against Jill."

Charmy looked at King. "…so, someone burned this place," he murmured, closing his eyes.

"Yeah..." King muttered with a nod.

"But Metal was around to put it out before it could get dangerous... kekeke..." Ripper hummed, as he glanced towards where Metal headed.

That made Charmy think some more. He connected Jill's behavior earlier with what he saw yesterday when they walked away from Music square, along with the fact that Metal put out the fire. He grew startled. _Don't tell me that Jill…?_

_...quite curious, isn't it?_ A voice called in his head, just as Sage entered the shop. "Tasha and Snap are still outside, looking for replacements for the objects the fire destroyed." she said, glancing at King.

"Is that right...?" King hummed.

Charmy looked at Sage, and sighed. _…I never would have thought…_

_Believe me, I was surprised, too, when I found that out._ Sage replied within Charmy's mind, as she continued her conversation with King, Miser and Ripper. _...though... I haven't checked if it's the same with Metal..._

…_it certainly makes things interesting_, Charmy thought, leaning against a wall he was sure was sturdy enough to support him. _But I'm surprised that Jill is thinking about something like that, after…well, you know…_

_I do wonder how that will play out..._ Sage hummed. _...but I don't think we should pressure her about it too much; she's just as baffled by this as you and me are._

_I understand,_ Charmy thought, finally deciding to turn and leave out the door. _Speaking of which, I should check on her to make sure she's alright…_


	8. Chapter 8

_**5 Years Later – Chapter Eight…**_

Running towards the pub, several thoughts raced through Metal's head. _Who could have done it? Why would anyone do it? Is she still conscious? Why didn't I follow her?_ They were only a few of the thoughts going through his head. His eyes narrowed when they found the pub, picking up the pace to a point where he rushed right through the entrance. However when he burst through the doors, he was suddenly grabbed by whoever stood guard at the door; which was Ruki.

"Whoa, there; calm down!" the scorpion uttered, just barely managing to hold the scrambling hedgehog in her grip.

"Metal!" Ani jumped up from where she was sitting behind the counter, greatly surprised to see him barge in like that. It looked like she was the only one in the bar besides Ruki.

Metal finally freed himself from Ruki's grip with a growl, shooting Ani a glare. "Where is she?"

"Hey, you need to lower your voice, buddy!" Ruki said, getting in front of Metal. "We've got someone injured in the back, and... wait..." She knew she recognized the voice at least, and slowly, she put the pieces together. "...you're that guy from the ferry! What're you-"

"Not now!" Metal grunted, shoving Ruki aside as he looked at Ani. "Is Jill safe?"

"Yeah, she's in one of the back rooms," Ani said.

"...and Joy?" Metal uttered, placing his hands on the counter. "...she's alright?"

"Perfectly safe, and with Jill," Ani replied.

"...I see..." Sighing, Metal sat down, rubbing his temples in an attempt to calm down. "...thank goodness that they're safe."

"...man, you're really worried about them, aren't ya?" Ruki hummed as she sat down as well, simply looking at the hedgehog.

"...Ani." Metal uttered, looking up at her. "...could I... go and see them?"

"…yeah, I think Jill's fixed up by now," Ani said. "You could go in."

With a slight nod, Metal stood up from his seat and swung behind the counter toward the way to the back rooms.

"...hm..." Ruki's head cocked over. "...what kinda relationship does he have with Jill and Joy, anyway?" she inquired, shooting Ani a glance.

"Well him and Jill are old, close friends," Ani said. "He hadn't met Joy until recently when he came on that ferry, though it looks like she's grown on him already." She smiled. "Joy has that effect on pretty much everyone that meets her anyway, so it isn't hard to believe."

"...yeah, she does have that effect." Ruki hummed, looking where Metal had gone. "...wonder if he'll stay calm or not..."

Metal found the room he was looking for, since the door was open a crack. Jill was sitting up in the bed with Joy in her lap. Small sniffles escaped from her scared daughter, as if she had been crying and was just finishing with it too. Jill could only stroke her hair with one hand to calm her down, since the other lay limp on the bed due to the injury she sustained saving her. Speaking of which, she wasn't wearing her jacket, showing that her arm was wrapped with bandages.

Metal let out a small sigh, and lightly knocked on the door afterward; better to alert them to his presence, rather than just barge in there.

Jill looked up and acknowledged him there with a nod. Once Joy turned and saw him, she wiped her eyes altogether. "Metoh?" she muttered.

"...hello." Metal said with a slight nod, as he slowly entered the room. "...how are you?" he asked.

Joy remained sad, touching Jill's bandages. "Mama got hurt, Metoh," she uttered. Jill used her one arm to hug her, trying to reassure Joy that she was still okay; more importantly, that she was glad nothing happened to Joy.

Metal couldn't help but smile, finding a chair to sit down by. "...you have an amazing mother, Joy." he eventually hummed, closing his eyes.

Jill actually blushed from that comment.

"M-hm," Joy said, hugging Jill tightly. "She is the best mama in the world, and I'm glad she's okay..."

"...so am I." Metal replied, still not looking at the two.

Jill was wondering why her heart started quickening a bit when she heard that; it spooked her.

"...Mama? where's Tais-dah?" Joy asked, unable to notice her mother's uneasiness. It was just now that Joy remembered that the plushie didn't follow them to the pub.

"...he's still at the shop, if I'm not mistaken." Metal said, looking towards Joy.

"...can I go get him?" Joy asked. Jill wasn't sure about that; after the fire and the attack from earlier, she was convinced that she shouldn't let Joy out of her sight.

Maybe...as long as someone was with her...

"...perhaps I could accompany her?" Metal suggested, rising from his seat. It was almost as if he read her mind... "We won't take long; I promise."

Jill thought about it while looking up at Metal. She trusted him enough, so there was no reason to reject the offer. Jill decided to let him do that with a nod, and Joy climbed off her lap to Metal.

With a slight nod, Metal smiled. "We'll be back in a bit." He opened the door so Joy could head out of it. "Let's go, Joy."

"M-hm," Joy went ahead and walked out, taking one last look at Jill. "I hope you feel better Mama," she said.

Jill smiled at her as she left, and then looked back up at Metal.

Glancing back at Jill, Metal smiled just a bit. "...you just hang in there until we get back, alright?" he said.

Seeing Metal smile at her was almost crippling.

Should she... tell him about what she found out about herself, yesterday? She very well couldn't write it; the arm stabbed earlier just so happened to be her writing arm, and that wasn't going to heal anytime soon. Why right now of all times, she wasn't sure...

Maybe because she still owed Metal for what he did for the fire.

With her working hand, she hesitantly made a beckoning motion of her hand, wishing for Metal to come over a minute.

Blinking, Metal tilted his head. "...is something on your mind?" he uttered, coming next to her bed.

Jill put her hand on his shoulder, and looked at him while she tried to figure out how she was going to do this. She was so afraid of what to do, and how Metal would react…

…she forced herself to manage as much as a kiss on the cheek.

Then she pulled away quite hurriedly, shyly turning away to protect herself from seeing Metal's reaction.

Metal blinked; that had come out of nowhere for him, and he carefully touched the cheek Jill had kissed. "...Jill... are you..."

Jill didn't move. She was so nervous she was frozen, but inside her heart was pounding in her chest.

Looking at Jill, a feeling of fluttering warmth came up inside him, much to his surprise. _...is this..._ Eventually, Metal placed a hand on her shoulder. "...I... take it that you have something important to tell me... right?"

Slowly, Jill turned back to him, realizing that Metal wasn't going to freak out about it. The nod answering his question was ever so small, while she looked up at him.

Seeing that, Metal smiled. "...once your arm heals up..." he uttered, as he moved his hand away from Jill. "...you can tell me... and I'll listen."

Jill nodded again.

"Let's go Metoh!" Joy pestered eagerly from the hall.

"...we'll be back." he said, before he left the room into the hall.

When Jill was all alone, she tried to catch her breath. She could feel herself shaking all over from that, and her heart was still pounding hard. She pressed a hand on her chest to ease it, but it didn't help.

As he walked through the hall, Metal, too, pressed a hand against his chest. For some reason that he couldn't explain, it was beating at a much quicker rate than he was used to. _...this feeling... _he thought, with his eyes slightly widening. _...don't tell me..._

Joy saw Metal do that and wondered why he did it. "What's wrong, Metoh?"

It took Metal a minute to reply with a shake of his head. "...nothing... nothing's wrong, Joy." he said reassuringly, looking at where they were going. That was when the two walked out to the actual bar, where Ani and Ruki still were.

"...hm? Where are you going?" Ruki uttered, as she glanced at Metal and Joy.

"...we're going to go fetch Joy's friend." Metal said with a slight nod.

"We gotsa get Tais-dah," Joy clarified.

"I see," Ani said, looking between the two as they headed for the door. "…be very careful then." Then Metal and Joy left outside.

Seeing the two of them leave, Ruki glanced at Ani. "...should we keep an eye on them?" she inquired.

Ani shrugged. "…to be honest, I think he can handle it by himself." It wasn't just a hunch that told her either. _After all, if that guy could face armies single-handedly and live to tell the tale_… she thought.

"...right..." Ruki nodded, before she let out a small yawn, leaning against the wall. "...we should probably check up on Jill, and see how she's holding up."

Ani rose from her seat. "I'll go do that so you can keep watch."

* * *

"…Metoh?" Joy had a question she wanted to ask him.

Blinking, Metal glanced down at Joy. "...what is it?" he hummed, holding his hands behind his back.

"Did you knowed my Mama before I was borned?" she asked curiously.

Metal blinked at this question, before eventually nodding with a smile. "...yes, I did." he said. "We were..." He stopped for a brief moment. Should he really tell Joy that he once was Jill's mortal enemy?

_...no. Not a chance in hell,_ he thought.

"...we were friends; close friends." he eventually said.

"Bestest friends?" she asked again.

Metal hummed, as he thought about this for a bit. "...yes..." he eventually nodded, looking down at Joy. "...that's right."

Joy smiled at hearing that. Then she skipped a rock across the road.

"...did you know my Papa too?"

He blinked again, and looked ahead, away from her. "...I did..." he mused. "...not as well as I knew Jill, but I did know him."

Joy looked back up at Metal. "What was he like?" she asked.

Metal hummed, as he folded his arms. "...he was strong, for one thing." He mused, looking up at the sky. "And he was also quite determined; no matter what happened, when he set out to do something, he'd do it," he said. _...and he might have a bit on the brash side, as well..._ he thought.

Joy looked up at the sky as well, almost in a dream. "Sage said that something happened to Papa, and it makes Mama sad every time somebody talks about Papa. Sage said that she'd tell me when I'm older what happened to him…" Then her gaze fell to the ground. "…I never got to see him ever, but I wish I could see him..."

Just hearing those words made Metal feel incredibly uncomfortable. To think that Joy had never even seen her father... and yet still wishing to see him, despite the circumstances. In silence, he could only place a hand on her shoulder.

"…do you think I'll see him someday, Metoh?" she asked, looking up at him again.

"...perhaps." Metal replied; he simply couldn't find it in him to let her know the truth. "Who knows? Fate works in a lot of ways..."

Joy smiled. Then her mind seemed to switch subjects too easily. "Are you gonna stay again, Metoh?"

Metal hummed, and then he looked down at Joy with a smile. "Yeah; I'll stay the night again." he said with a nod.

Joy's smile grew wider. "That's good," she said. "I like it when you stay over."

"Is that right?" Metal chuckled. "...that's nice."

Joy paused from her talking for now, since she spied a pretty butterfly go by, and she watched it as she walked down the road with Metal. Glancing at the butterfly as well, Metal couldn't help but smile. _...this really does feel..._ he thought, before closing his eyes. _...kind of... nice._

"Oh look!" Joy said with a point. "There it is!" What she was pointing at was Jill's malt shop. They could see inside through the windows that there were some new tables and chairs in there.

_Looks like they've gotten things back in order..._ he thought when he saw it. "Let's go get Tails Doll, Joy." he said, leading Joy towards the shop.

"M-hm!" Joy answered happily.

* * *

The afternoon rolled by, and around a deserted part of the town, many different characters ran to meet up in this place.

Boomer confronted Rudy, "Did you find out anything?"

"Nothing," Rudy answered. "A lot of people were actually pretty shocked to hear Jill and Joy get attacked like that."

Boomer saw Natal and Newt running up then. "How about you guys? Did you find out anything?"

"We found nothin'." Newt said with a shrug. "Just about everyone we met were blown away, y'know..."

"Hm..." Natal glanced around. "...wonder if Wiper and Cal had better luck than us..."

"I caught something."

"AGH!" That voice coming out of nowhere scared Rudy, especially when Cal appeared out of thin air. "…you gotta warn me when your cloaking's on," Rudy heaved in a scared breath.

"I'm _not supposed_ to warn you; that's the point of cloaking, Rudy," Cal groaned, rolling his eyes. Then he returned his focus to the matter at hand. "I caught a group of them talking about it. They said that they suspect Raider the one responsible as a way to get back at her for the humiliation she put him through."

"But I wouldn't think that guy would be that drastic, would he?" Rudy said.

"No, I don't think he would," Cal answered. "I think that Diablo or Kiri might have something to do with it instead, because of what happened at Music Square."

"That means that we've got a lead; both on Raider, and on Diablo and Kiri..." Natal hummed.

It was Newt's turn to look around this time. "...hey... where's Wiper?"

"Saw him heading toward the arena," Cal replied.

Rudy smirked. "Oh, I see. Gonna go see Sonia huh?"

"Yep," Cal answered.

"Huh..." Newt hummed, as he folded his arms. "...that's unlike him."

"Well, he did promise that he'd be there." Natal mused, giggling. "This could get interesting..."

* * *

Charmy looked as inconspicuous as possible; although it was kind of hard with no crowd to blend in. Wiper was also less easy to fool than most others, but Charmy's achieved it before with more observant people. Espio's skills had not gone to waste after all; not to mention that Charmy had the advantage of flight, leaving no trail behind himself.

Since the agents had it all handled, and Jill and Joy were in safe hands, he couldn't miss out this opportunity. He couldn't help but think that if someone else saw this, their point of view would make this seem creepy, but Charmy was doing this in an act of good nature. That, and well, perhaps this was why Wiper was so down yesterday morning. Maybe he needed to find someone he could call his other, just like how Boomer and Cal were attracted to Newt and Natal.

He saw the giant stadium that Wiper walked toward, and grinned. _Show time._

Entering the stadium, Wiper cracked his neck and hissed just a bit. _...she should be here... _he thought, entering the actual arena.

"Ah, there you are!" Sonia was standing in the middle of the arena with folded arms, looking at the cobra. "I was wondering when you'd show up."

"...I was held up for a while." Wiper shrugged. "Did you hear of what happened to Jill today?"

"Yeah; the rumors spread around like wildfire." Sonia said, sighing. "Poor girl... but let's not think about that just yet!" Sonia readied herself in a battle stance. "We've got sparring to do!"

"...indeed." Nodding, Wiper got in his own stance, keeping his eyes on Sonia. "Let us begin."

Charmy found them while hiding in the darkness of the hallway into the arena. For now, he would watch to see when his opportunity would come along.

Sonia rushed at Wiper, delivering a swift kick aimed at Wiper's neck and having anticipated the blow, the cobra quickly ducked. _...quite flexible... _he thought, hissing. _...but it leaves her open._ Wiper opened his palm and aimed a blow to Sonia's gut. However, the rattlesnake was quicker, spinning around and using her other leg to kick away Wiper's arm, deflecting the blow.

"Not bad." she said with a smirk. She dropped onto a handstand with a backwards somersault kick to the cobra. Since he was still recovering from Sonia kicking away his arm, Wiper took a blow directly to the head, knocking him down.

"Ouch," Charmy murmured under his breath so he wasn't heard.

Immediately getting back on his feet, Wiper shook his head. "...tough blow..." he muttered, watching Sonia get back on her own feet as well. "...you know your moves. Where did you learn them?"

"I was my own teacher." Sonia said. "Glad that you like my moves." Then, she aimed another kick at Wiper's neck.

This time, however, Wiper quickly raised his left arm, blocking the kick. "...I'll have you know that my moves aren't to be taken lightly, either." he said, thrusting his palm at the leg he had just blocked.

Sonia didn't count on that. A numbing sensation went through her leg, just as she was sent flying a small distance from this blow. "...ungh..." she groaned, rubbing her leg. "...that stings... I can't feel my leg..."

"...you'll be able to feel it, shortly." Wiper said, hissing with a fold of his arms.

_Well, this seems to be getting nowhere, _Charmy thought. Thinking of something, he started looking through the pocket of his vest to see if he had anything.

After a short while, Sonia got back on her feet, rubbing her left leg. "...man... you've got quite an technique, to disable me like that..."

"...well, I've been my own teacher." Wiper shrugged.

Sonia blinked, before smiling._ ...he's got wit, too... totally different than the average grunt around here... _Then, she got in her fighting stance, motioning for Wiper to come at her. _...he's definitely the one!_

Nodding, Wiper ran right at Sonia, thrusting his palms repeatedly at the rattlesnake; this time, however, Sonia had the sense of evading each blow with grace, making her evasive maneuvers look like a dance of sorts.

_Ah, there it is, _Charmy managed to find what he was looking for; a small marble. With careful precision, he rolled it hard enough to go a very far distance, rolling toward Wiper and Sonia. _Now, if only one of them were to slip..._

Sonia had gone on the offensive now, approaching Wiper as she delivered kick after kick on him. Calmly using the palms of his hands, Wiper deflected each kick he didn't evade, whilst walking backwards. _...she's good..._ he thought, his mind fully focused on parrying Sonia's attacks. _...something seems to drive her... what it is, though, I can't-_

Through some manner of bad luck, Wiper stepped on the marble that just reached them, tripping backwards. Coincidentally, this knocked Sonia off balance as well, causing her to fall right on top of him.

Charmy grinned. _Bingo..._

Groaning, Wiper glanced at Sonia, who shook her head. "...my apologies; I managed to lose my balance."

"Ugh... don't worry about it..." Sonia muttered, slowly lifting herself up. "It happens some... times..." She stopped, holding herself over Wiper as she simply looked down at him.

Wiper eventually cocked his head. "...Sonia? Are you-" Sonia suddenly pressed a finger against his lips. "-mh?"

"...this is... kind of sudden..." Sonia uttered, before closing her eyes. "...so don't freak out too much... alright?" Then, before Wiper could inquire about her intentions, she suddenly planted a kiss on him.

Charmy wasn't quite so surprised to find that Sonia really was interested in him, but it was the fact that she was kissing him already that surprised him. He kept watching for the sake of finding out what Wiper's reaction to this was.

Sonia pulled away to see Wiper's shock, letting out a small sigh at it. "...well, you didn't freak out that much..."

"...you..." Wiper could only look at Sonia.

"...to be honest..." Sonia uttered, rubbing the back of her neck. "...when I first saw you at the pub... well, how do I put this..."

"...you mean to say that you..." Wiper began, blinking a few times. "...really... care for me?"

Sonia stared at him, and then nodded. "...more than that... I..."

Wiper hummed, "...I... think I understand..." and he suddenly hugged Sonia, startling the rattlesnake. "...thanks."

Sonia blinked, before she smiled, returning the hug.

Charmy was a little...confused. Not exactly what he imagined to happen after something like that. It also wasn't quite like Wiper to react that way. He waited a bit longer to see if anything else would happen.

After a short while, Sonia let go of Wiper; however, the cobra didn't let go of Sonia just yet. "...is something wrong?" she asked.

"...no... nothing's wrong..." Wiper uttered. "...I've just... never had anyone feel like that for me... it's new to me."

"...is that right?" Sonia blinked. "...if that's the case... mind coming over to my place?"

"...I... suppose..." Wiper hummed, still not letting go of Sonia.

Charmy finally decided that his business was done, and he turned to leave, chuckling to himself. Thankfully, even his chuckling wasn't heard by Wiper or Sonia.

After a few moments, Wiper eventually let go of Sonia so the two could get back on their feet. Then Wiper looked at Sonia. "...so... where do you live?"

"...I live over in the woods, in a cabin by myself." Sonia said with a nod, reaching her hand to Wiper. "...shall we?"

"...let's." Wiper nodded, taking Sonia's hand.

* * *

Nighttime came. The town was shut down completely and the pub was closed and locked tightly for safety, since the full moon was aglow in the nearly midnight sky.

A group of four solders sat in the dark woods on this night, gathered around a campfire.

"Jill and her daughter were attacked?"

"Yeah, that's what I heard."

"How terrible! What happened?"

"I was told that this knife was thrown at them and Jill grabbed Joy to protect her. Some people are starting to think that knife was meant for Joy."

"Why would anyone think of hurting such a sweet little girl?"

"Well if they're victims of something or somebody...who's to say that we won't become victims as well?"

"Don't be silly. Whoever attacked her also tried to burn down Jill's shop."

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah. Somebody doesn't really like her...its obvious whoever's doing this is only doing it to them."

"You think Raider is doing this? I saw what Jill did to him the other day; hilarious as hell. Nobody's seen him very much recently either, and I heard other people say that he might have done it."

"Raider might be known for vandalism, but he can be a wuss too. No, I think it was Diablo or Kiri that had the galls to do this. Both of them are psychotic enough."

"But why would they try to attack Jill and Joy like that? What goal would they accomplish by trying to hurt them?"

"Who knows. Those two are like serial killers, remember? No one knows what they could really be thinking."

"I heard a rumor that might say why..."

"What?"

"There's a rumor that goes around. Jill supposedly has a witch living inside her, an evil witch that's just as bad as all of them put together; you know, Hex, Raider, Spiel, Diablo, Kiri, all of them..."

"That's one of the stupidest rumors I've ever heard. Jill has a heart of gold. She'd never turn evil on us!"

"Yeah, and why would Diablo and Kiri really be interested in a fake rumor that that? I bet that rumor was spread by them in the first place-"

"SHHH! Guys, I just heard something!"

Unease rose in the group sitting by the campfire in the middle of the woods that night. All of them were quiet, trying to listen in on something.

"...if that's King, then we'll get in trouble for being out of the barracks in the middle of the night."

"Relax, I've camped out here dozens of time without him knowing. King's probably asleep himself."

"SHHHHHH!"

One of them was really concerned about this noise. A tree branch snapped earlier, and if he was correct, there was something that snapped it; a foot maybe... was someone watching them? "Hey, whoever you are, come out!"

They all saw someone finally walk out from hiding.

"Oh, it's you."

"We were just talking about you. What are you doing up so late anyway?"

They noticed that this newcomer had something in their hands. It looked sharp...

"W-what is that? And why do you have it?"

It was a knife.

"H-hey, take it easy with that, alright?"

The newcomer did nothing of the sort. Without warning, this newcomer lurched forward and stabbed one of them in the chest with this knife, making the soldier cry in anguish. The others jumped up to their feet. "Oh my god!"

"What are you doing?" one of them threw themselves onto this newcomer to stop them, but failed. This newcomer yanked the knife out of the chest of the first one, and sliced the hand off of the second one to his horror. He screamed, until the newcomer swung the knife again at the neck, beheading him, and he screamed no more.

"I'm getting out of here!" one of them tried to run, but the moment they turned, the newcomer was already there, and they became another victim of death by this knife.

The last one cowered in fear of this newcomer, and trembled for dear life as he watched the newcomer approach him. "N-no, please! Don't kill me! I didn't do it! Honest! I would never-!" another slash of this knife and he fell to the ground, dead. All of them were now dead.

This newcomer wiped the blood on their hands onto a tree. Then they took up the head that rolled away from one of their bodies, taking it with them as they walked away from the crime scene.

Silence...

_...mmmh... _Having seen that, one character hummed silently so she wouldn't attract attention to herself. _...now why would anyone do something like that? _With a mild scoff, Hex folded a couple of her tentacles, looking at the dead bodies. _...mmmh... King will be worried if he finds their bodies... _Four of her tentacles wrapped themselves around all the dead soldiers' legs. _...so someone needs to make sure that he doesn't find them..._

_

* * *

_

Metal blinked as he slowly sat up. Since Jill and Joy had been sleeping at the pub, Metal decided that he would remain there as well in case anyone tried coming at them. However, he had opted to sleep on one of the chairs, which explained his slightly sore back...

...perhaps that was why he hadn't had a dream regarding Deity this night.

Snap was sitting in another chair, and as usual, he was awake since he didn't require sleep. It didn't take him very long to see that Metal was awake either. _"Good morning, Metal,"_ he said.

Something that Metal immediately noticed was that there was a rotten stench in the air, which Snap was totally oblivious about since he was incapable of smell.

Metal was silent at first, unresponsive to Snap's morning greeting, and then rose from his seat. "...stay here, Snap." he uttered, heading outside. The scent seemed to carry that way...

_"Hm?"_ Snap wondered why Metal suddenly hurried outside, and instead of listening to Metal, he followed him outside. "_Metal, what's wrong?"_ And that's when Snap stopped.

He happened to turn around toward the pub from outside to see it.

Above the entrance to the pub a severed, bloody head was perched up there; the look of horror stained on his face from the moment he was killed. Over the head was a painted message in dark crimson red; bold and big enough for the world to read.

_"QUIT NOW, OR ELSE YOU'RE NEXT."_

Snap shuddered when he looked upon it; appalled by such a sight.

Metal, on the other hand, wasn't visibly disturbed since death was something he was accustomed to. However, what made him concerned was the message. _...this must obviously be meant for Jill... _he thought, as he folded his arms. "...Snap." he uttered, with a small sprout of liquid metal coming out of his hand. "Before Jill and Joy wake up... we need to get this mess cleaned up."

_"Uh...r-right!"_ Snap said, but then he halted again, glancing toward the street.

He had noticed that Diablo and Kiri were standing over there, observing that disturbing message with interest.

_"Metal,"_ Snap indicated to them with a point.

Blinking, Metal looked towards the two. _...they're up early..._

"...isn't it pretty, Big Brother?" Kiri uttered with a smile, as she looked up at the head.

"...I suppose," Diablo commented, but while he would normally enjoy the sight of this, there was something bugging him.

He tried to look for Oblivion all day yesterday and all night but couldn't find her, so there was no way she erased a memory of him doing this. He could also tell the difference between remembering that he didn't do it, and not remembering that he did.

And he didn't do this.

This was the work of someone else...

With a mild frown, Metal looked back up at the head. Liquid metal shot from his hand, pulling it away from where it sat. "...I'll tell King about this. Snap, you start cleaning... and hurry up, please." he said, before running off.

"Aaw... killjoy." Kiri muttered, as she folded her arms.

Snap took one more wary look back at those two, and then headed back inside the pub to get cleaning materials.

Jill took in a deep breath as she opened her eyes, feeling wonderful after the sleep she had gotten. She didn't know why she felt so good but she just did. Maybe when Hunter and Ani suggested that they stay here for the night, she felt so safe and relieved that Joy would be just as safe. She looked down at her still sleeping daughter in her arm with a smile.

_"...morning, Jill." _At that point, Tails Doll, having been cuddled by a sleeping Joy for the night, glanced up at Jill. _"How are you doing today? Is the arm any better?"_

Jill sat up carefully, immediately feeling the sore ache in her arm with a wince when she did. It wasn't as bad as it was yesterday though... but it was enough to answer Tails Doll's question.

_"...well, at least you're better, now." _Tails Doll said, as he glanced down at Joy. _"...she's been sleeping soundly all night long, too..."_

Jill smiled at that. Then there was something she wanted to ask that she might be able to accomplish by writing with her left hand. Finding her notepad on the end table next to the bed, she tried to write the message with her left hand. Her letters were hard to trace, having blown up in size and become a little less smooth than the writing of her right hand, but after she was done writing she looked over it. It looked legible enough to make out, at least.

_Where's Metal?_ it read when Jill showed it to Tails Doll.

Looking at the note, Tails Doll hummed. _"...I think he and Snap were staying out in the pub for the night. Big Bro really didn't want anyone to try and do something mean to you and Joy while you were sleeping..."_

That was pretty thoughtful of Metal, in Jill's opinion. She glanced at the door just for her thoughts to center on him, and she smiled without realizing it. She was sorry that Metal had to go through so much trouble for her, but she was thankful for what he did.

She was really just thankful that he actually came back after all these years.

Noticing this, Tails Doll tilted his head. _"...what are you thinking about, Jill?"_ he inquired.

Jill quickly turned to him and shook her hand, gesturing that it was nothing. But again, she turned a little red in the face having been caught thinking about him.

* * *

Knocking, again? Tasha tried to open her eyes but they hadn't yet adjusted to the light of the morning yet. It took a couple blinks before she was fully awake and even then she didn't feel entirely awake. With a sigh, she placed a hand on King. "Twilight, someone's at the door again..." she whispered.

"...mrh... 'sat right?" King uttered, sitting up with a yawn. "...well, at least it's the morning... but who could..." Mumbling lightly, the tiger slowly got out of bed, heading for the door.

Tasha just lay back down in the bed. She wasn't ready to get up yet, and she didn't care this time to see who it was.

King slowly opened the door with another yawn. "Alright, what is-" and he saw Metal holding a decapitated head in his left arm. "...the hell...?"

"...this was found above the pub this morning." Metal uttered, motioning towards the head. "Along with a message... "Quit this, or you're next", it read."

Tasha sat up to look, and reeled back in horror at the sight of that. "Who in the world could do something so cruel?" she uttered.

Of course, this meant Metal now knew about Tasha in the bed. However, Metal didn't seem to be concerned with that at the moment. "...do you know what this means, King?"

"Yeah..." King muttered, clenching his fists. "...someone's killed someone... that's something I won't allow in Safe Haven! Whoever killed that soldier-"

"Mmmh... he's not the only one who's dead."

Hearing that, both Metal and King turned to see Hex approaching them, holding her pipe between her fingers. "...Hex..." King growled. "...do you know something?"

Tasha hopped out of bed and joined the others by the front door. "What do you mean he isn't the only one dead?" Just the mention of a murderer around here really concerned her. What if this murderer targeted her people?

Glancing at Tasha, Hex chuckled. "...so, you've taken residence with King... lucky girl." she hummed.

"Let's stay on topic, here." Metal shot in, as he glared at the octopus. "Just what do you know about-" At that point, Hex slid a tentacle underneath Metal's chin, pulling him closer to her.

"Mmmh... you're certainly a looker..." Hex chuckled. "I do wonder... how would someone who's gone under such change perform...?"

Metal's eyes widened once he heard that, quickly backing away. "...how did you..."

"Mmmh, shy as well..." Hex chuckled, giving the hedgehog a sultry look. "...I've decided. You'll be mine."

"Enough, Hex!" King snapped, as he stomped in front of the octopus. "Would you tell us who did it, so he can be punished?"

"...mmmh... are you sure that you wish to learn of the one who killed four men in cold blood last night?" Hex hummed, as she closed her eyes.

"I wish to know, for the sake of my people's safety," Tasha threw in, also glaring at Hex.

"...hm... how noble..." Hex chuckled, as she took a drag from her pipe, breathing out a cloud of smoke. "If you really must know," Then, a smirk crossed her lips; "It was none other than Jillian Condit."

Utter silence.

The three around the octopus could only look at her in disbelief; Metal actually stepping back in shock from this news. "...J-Jill... did that?" he uttered.

"…no," Tasha shook her head, covering her mouth to hide how wide open it was. "…she would never…"

"...you're lying!" King roared, as he suddenly grabbed Hex by the throat; "Just what the hell makes you think that Jill would do something like that?"

"...believe me or not, but I know who I saw." Hex uttered, as she used one tentacle to pry King's hand off her. "And it was definitely Jill. You could have Sage probe her for information, and you'll see that I'm right."

Metal, however, was silent, as he looked down at the ground. _...she couldn't..._ he thought, closing his eyes... when something dawned on him.

...quit now... or you're next...

Thinking that, Metal gritted his teeth. _...that idiot... why did she..._

Tasha still didn't believe that it could have been Jill. "…what reason would she even have to do such a thing?"

"Who knows?" Hex shrugged, before she began walking off. "To be honest, I could care less if Miss Condit is secretly a serial killer; I have my own business to attend to."

"...just what did you do with the bodies, Hex?" King muttered, glaring at the octopus.

"...I buried them." Hex shrugged, without looking back at King. "It would be disrespectful to do anything else."

As she left, King glanced away with a scowl. _...somehow, I don't think you'd care about respect for the dead, Hex..._ he thought.

_Secretly a serial killer…_ What Hex said made Tasha recall what King told her before. "Do you think…it was the doing of that Callous woman you told me about…King?" Tasha asked.

"...it definitely was." Metal answered before King could hope to do so. "Callous... that idiot..."

What Metal said made King curious, as he looked at the hedgehog. "...do you know something?" he inquired.

"...all I know is..." Metal muttered, as he began walking off. "...I need to talk to her tonight."

After Metal left, Tasha looked to King uneasily. "…what are we going to do?" she asked. "What if this Callous woman gets out of control and…" she couldn't dare ask what this woman could do.

King grit his teeth, as he folded his arms. "...right now, we've got to trust Metal to handle it," he muttered. "And... just hope that she doesn't get outta control."

"…and what about Jill?" Tasha asked. "Would you punish her for what happened?"

"...aside from Hex and Metal, we're the only ones who know that she did it." King muttered. "...so... I suppose I'll think of an excuse... and let Jill go without punishment."

* * *

Blinking, Charon looked around him. He could hear someone walking through the cave. "...who's there...?" he uttered.

"It's me, Charon," reassured a soft voice, and Oblivion walked into his view.

Seeing that, Charon let out a relieved sigh. "...you worried me..." he muttered, before blinking. "...not that I'm complaining, but... you fed me yesterday. I didn't expect you to come here today..."

"I know," Oblivion said. "...but there seems to be a situation blooming here on the island. Word has already spread around that a message was written in blood on the entrance of the pub."

"...blood...?" Charon uttered, as he stood up. "...do you know why that appeared...?"

"Rumor tells that it was a message for Jillian," Oblivion said. Charon could tell that the unicorn was a little uneasy. "...Charon...I sense some unholy power in the works..."

"...unholy..." Humming, Charon stepped closer to Oblivion. "...do you... need my help...?"

"...I'm not sure," Oblivion answered. "...but I'm afraid of what these powers could do...especially when someone emotionally unstable can wield these powers." She looked up at Charon. "...it is Jillian, Charon," she muttered. "I sense these unholy powers from her..."

"...is that so..." Charon hummed, as he let out a growl. "...perhaps you could eradicate that unholy force from her mind...?"

"I don't know..." Oblivion answered in honesty. "...to tell the truth, this force seems to be growing stronger...I think Diablo is evoking this power in her..."

"...Diablo..." Hearing that, Charon snarled. "...you can't let him do something like that... let me take care of him; from what I've heard about him, no one would miss him if he vanished..."

"True...but people would start asking questions if he went missing, Charon," Oblivion replied, growing steadily more uneasy. "...at least let me find out more information about what is going on...before we do anything..." She placed a hand on his chest, hoping the gesture would get him to listen.

Looking down at the hand, Charon eventually nodded, placing his own hand on it. "...take your time... but don't get yourself in trouble... Oblivion..."

"...I promise I will return," Oblivion agreed, and she pulled away to head for the outside of the cavern.

* * *

No one was awake yet... Jill decided she'd check out the pub since Ani, Hunter, and the rest of the GUN agents were still asleep; except Wiper. She didn't find him, which was an interesting thing after remembering that he had to meet up with Sonia at the arena. Instead of imaging how things turned out for that, she entered into the bar.

She found Snap with buckets of red water, bringing them inside. She also saw King and Tasha sitting at a table.

Blinking, King glanced at Jill once she got out. "...morning, Jill." he said with a nod.

Jill nodded to him, just in time for Tasha and Snap to notice her as well.

"...how did you sleep Jill?" Tasha asked, and Jill nodded again to confirm that she slept well. Then she looked questionably at what Snap was carrying in.

_"...don't ask," _Snap murmured, figuring Jill would be better off if she didn't know right at the moment.

Nodding, King folded his arms, as he tapped his arms a few times. "...you... haven't seen Metal today, have you, Jill?" he inquired.

Jill shook her head no, and speaking of which, she really did wonder where he went off to.

"Hm..." Humming, King glanced towards the door. "...it's weird; me and Tasha met him earlier, and when he left, we thought that he went back to the pub... but obviously, he didn't."

"...maybe he went to the shop to see how things were?" Tasha suggested.

Jill decided she would go see if that was true or not, and she walked on up to the door of the pub.

_"W-wait, you're not thinking of going out there alone, right Jill?"_ Snap uttered nervously.

Jill just smiled and shook her hand. She would be alright, and even if her arm was injured, she still have a couple of capable legs to deal with anybody who wanted to mess with her. If they remembered what happened to Raider, then they would know she'd be alright.

Looking at Jill, King sighed. "...just be careful, alright?" he said.

Jill regarded one last nod to King and she was outside.

She spent her time walking, and at first she kept an eye out, but then she began daydreaming as she walked through town.

...once her arm healed... but how was she going to explain to Metal these feelings she discovered short of 2 days ago? He's been able to feel emotions for only 5 years, and there was no way he fully understood the concept of...these feelings. She wouldn't even admit to herself what these feelings really were. She didn't want to go too far in case Metal felt awkward about this...she herself felt awkward, but at the same time, this was something she didn't want to just push aside...

A noise in the bushes distracted her, and she caught a glimpse of a white glimmer disappearing into the woods. She probably should have ignored it and regarded it as nothing, but this particular thing really caught Jill's interest, so she turned off the road and into the woods, following where she thought this glimmer disappeared in. Luckily, she caught sight of it again up ahead, telling her that she was heading in the right direction.

By the time she came to an opening, the white glimmer was gone into darkness. Jill stood before the monstrous mouth of a cave; something that she had never seen before in her 3 years of living on this island. It was a wonder that she never saw it before. The sign that she could barely read out as "DO NOT ENTER," also peaked her curiosity about what possibly could be inside. While it was tempting to walk inside, she wondered if it really was a good idea or not.

Finally, she brought herself to cautiously enter inside...

As she walked through the cave, she could hear some conversation, though mostly, only low growls, as if they came from a creature of some kind.

It was certainly making Jill's interest grow, and she continued to creep forward into the cave, while the low growls were replied with a soft voice. She even got close enough to make out the words being said.

"...it seems like Diablo didn't write the bloody message on the pub, like some others suspect." spoke the soft voice.

"...you could have fooled me..." the low voice snarled. "...are you sure that she's..."

Bloody message on the pub? Jill was shocked to hear this. Was that what Snap was cleaning up? Thinking about those buckets of red water...

"...I don't know...I just don't know," the soft voice said, shakily. "...Diablo tried burning down her house, and even tried to attack her yesterday..."

That glued Jill's ears to this conversation, but she forgot to keep herself from inching closer to the voices...so she kept walking towards them.

"...bastard..." the low voice growled. "...I still say we crush him like the insect he is... no one would exact-" At that point, the voice let out a brief growl, before beginning to sniff at the air.

Jill nervously stopped, getting a bad feeling about this.

"...well, someone's here..." Snarling, the low voice began heading towards Jill.

Something told Jill that she should run...

...so she did. She spun around and bolted away to get out of the cave.

"Wait, don't run!" cried out that soft voice, but it only served to make Jill run faster.

Something suddenly popped out and struck Jill in the head. Before she knew it, she was hitting the back of her head on the cave floor, having fallen. In the process of sluggishly losing her grip on reality, she felt something moist on the back of her head, and when she touched it she saw blood on her hand. The image of her hand split into three, and swirled around in a blurry twist...

The last thing she knew of was chuckling, while she felt herself whisked up effortlessly.

"Just think of the things we could do to you..."

And Jill was gone.


	9. Chapter 9

_**5 Years Later – Chapter Nine…**_

She was drenched...and the cool breeze blowing overhead chilled her to the bone. Sounds of explosions echoed in the void of her lost consciousness, but the noises became closer and louder as she grew more attentive of reality around her. Finally she got the nerve to open her eyes. She was lying down in the sand that was stained with black flakes of...something. It smelled like soot. Soot fluttering down from the gray, cloudy sky like black, ominous snow. Salty waves rocked back and forth around her, which explained why she was soaking wet since she was caught in the tide.

...this left her perplexed.

Jillian Condit pushed herself up off of the sand on the shores of the coast, (only with one hand because her arm was still injured beyond use) and found that she had trouble doing it. She felt intensely weak, trembling when she tried to use her aching muscles in her working arm. She also felt a large, swollen emptiness inside her stomach...almost as if she hadn't eaten in days. She would've moaned in agony if she had a voice. Her entire body seemed to have suffered in some way, shape or form... even her clothes had been ripped up. Her gray jeans were now uneven shorts revealing her curvy legs, her green jacket was missing, and so were her shoes. She looked ragged in general, like an island castaway.

Another explosion sounded off in the distance behind her, and she turned around as best as she could. A storm of black smoke was rising from deep within the jungle. Examining the surroundings, she saw that she was still on Safe Haven Island... perhaps on its edge where she was less familiar with it than the small town of civilization that she had lived in. For all she knew, she was completely on the other side of the island.

Something had happened...to the island, and to her...

...but why couldn't she remember? The last she knew, she was just walking out of the pub on an errand, and then...nothing. Just a big blank.

Two things became an instant concern on her mind; Joy and Metal. Where were they, and were they safe?

Her strength failed her yet again when she tried to rise to her feet, succeeding only to collapse back down on the sand, more frail than she thought she was. She was left without any hope of being able to move on her own, stranded on the coast with no answers to her baffled questions while shivering bitterly in the damp coldness.

She felt like things had been done to her... horrible things. She couldn't possibly feel so weak like this on her own... and she felt so familiar to this feeling of helpless, tortured, weak pain... she knew only to lay there.

Just then, she could hear something faint in the distance, like someone was calling her name. It sounded familiar, and it was headed right for her.

Jill could barely look in the direction the sound came from, to try to see who it was.

"JILL!" At that point, someone emerged from the forest, stopping to see the ewe lying on the ground. "...thank heavens... it's you!" Quickly rushing to her side, this figure immediately knelt by her. "...you're safe..." Metal uttered in absolute relief.

She only looked silently at Metal. While she was naturally glad to see him, her look was filled with questions. That, and she was too weak to do anything else.

Quickly, Metal took hold of Jill, helping her get on her feet, and he hung her arm around his shoulder so she wouldn't fall to the ground. "...just relax... King's gotten Joy and the others to safety... a few explosives remain, but the situation's defused itself..." he muttered.

Jill was startled to hear that. Explosives? While it was comforting to know that everyone was alright, she was perplexed even more, wondering about what could of happened that she somehow couldn't remember.

"...I'm just glad to know that you're still alright, Jill..." Metal uttered, as he began heading for the woods, carrying Jill after him. "...you've been missing for three days, after all..."

Jill gasped.

She's been missing for 3 days?

"...just relax, Jill." Metal said. "We'll have Sage take a look at you, and find out who stole you away... trust me; whoever did it won't get away with it."

All of it was so sudden...

...but Jill didn't have the energy to worry about anything and right now she was just happy being with Metal right now, so she concentrated trying to walk with Metal helping her...

Elsewhere...

"...that...damn beast..." uttered a small voice. Right now, he had to hide after what happened, just to stay alive. Things sure went way out of hand; nothing like what he expected.

"Hello? Are there anyone around here?" At that point, three soldiers approached the area, examining it; however, they didn't spot anyone.

"...nothing..." one of them muttered. "...sheesh, what was with that beast?"

"Did you guys see how it snatched away Oblivion? I thought it was gonna eat her, for a minute!" another of them shuddered.

"Well, we should hurry back. King said that there could be explosives waiting to detonate in the area..." the last of them noted, as they began heading off.

Once they were gone, he let out a sigh of relief. Diablo poked his head out from where he was hiding; revealing a large, bloody gash across his face. The past events sure were ugly, he thought, as he remembered some of what happened...

_Raider had a hold of Oblivion, forcing her to stand by Jill's side. Looking over, Oblivion could see the torture and despair the poor girl went through, lying there weakly. "...how could you?" she uttered distastefully, glaring back at Diablo._

_"I'll get to the point," Diablo growled. "Everything I've tried from starving her, to torturing her, to even letting Raider do with her whatever he wanted; NOTHING has done anything to draw out that witch. So I want you to erase ALL of her memories, except for the ones centered around Callous. That way, she will have no reason to do anything else except submit to Callous' control."_

_Oblivion was appalled. "I don't understand how you could do such things to a girl! Don't you know she has a child who has no one else but her?"_

_"Don't care," Diablo grumbled, growing irritated with Oblivion. "Besides, she'll eventually just be butchered up by Kiri. There's really no point." Diablo put his face in Oblivion's. "So are you going to do it or not?" he asked._

_"Of course not!" Oblivion yelped. "I may have played along with your scheme before, Diablo, but you've gone too far!"_

_"But she knows about Charon, Oblivion."_

_That made Oblivion stop, horrified that Diablo mentioned such a thing._

_"Would you trust her with knowing who your beloved creature is?" Diablo continued to question. "She may alert King and the others, and then the hunt will begin..."_

_Oblivion tried not to listen, but Diablo found a hook in the situation, reeling her closer and closer to capture._

_At that point, the group heard something faint in the distance, much like a roar of sorts._

_Oblivion lit up in hope, while Diablo grit his teeth. He didn't have much time. "Oblivion, did you know Jill was capable of killing a creature that was 10 times Charon's size, and much stronger?" Oblivion shot a look of more horror at Diablo, and he grinned. "If she deemed Charon too dangerous, she might just be able to take him out herself..."_

_Oblivion knew she couldn't be fooled; if she did what he wanted her to do, Callous would do that. But the "what ifs" really bugged her. What if it came to a point where Jill would put Charon down, if Charon got out of control?_

_The roars only grew louder, and now, the earth itself seemed to begin to quake, as someone was running with heavy steps._

_With this going on, Oblivion knew that she was going to be rescued. She tried to squirm free from Raider._

_"Ah, ah, ah," Raider suddenly wrapped one of his large arms around her while he held a knife to Oblivion's neck, making her think twice about this._

_"Erase her memories," Diablo growled, while the knife pressed into her neck painfully. "Or we'll slit your throat...and then there won't be anyone to stop Charon from being killed."_

_The moment Diablo said that, however, all of a sudden, the door leading into the hideout was blown off its hinges, rocketing into the room. "...release her..." Charon growled, as he took a step into the room; just by looking at him, one could tell that his patience was at its end._

_"Not until she erases Jill's memories," Diablo said, and Oblivion gasped as the knife punctured. A drop of blood slowly trickled down her neck._

_Snarling, Charon took another step forward. "...move that knife any closer... and I will not forgive you, Diablo..." he snarled._

_"Ah-alright! I'll do it!" uttered Oblivion in tears. Even if Charon had every right to rip Diablo in shreds, she knew Charon would never stop after the taste of blood. Not without her..._

_Diablo smirked. "That's a good girl..."_

_Glancing at Oblivion, Charon blinked. "...wait... you're not going to..." he uttered, before he stopped. ...what's stopping her from fleeing is the knife... if I can... "...how about we make a deal... Diablo?" Growling, Charon looked back at the leopard. "...you promise to leave Oblivion alone forever... and you may cut off my head."_

_Oblivion shuddered when she heard that._

_"Well now...that's a pretty noble bargain," Diablo chuckled. "Okay then. Do it."_

_Raider released Oblivion, and came at Charon with the knife._

_"NO!" Oblivion screamed._

_However, Charon simply looked back at Oblivion with a nod. ...when you see an opening... run, Oblivion... he thought, before looking back at Raider. "...do your worst."_

_"You bet!" Raider laughed, throwing a slice right for his neck. With the force Raider slashed at Charon, along with the sharpness of the knife, a brief cut was seen, before Charon's head fell off his shoulders. The body remained standing for a little while, before collapsing to the floor._

_Oblivion stared in more horror, while Diablo chuckled. "Well now, that wasn't too hard, was it?" Then Diablo turned back to Oblivion. "Well, you said you were going to do it, right?"_

_"...what?" Oblivion couldn't believe the double-crosser. Then she looked over at Jill...noticing that she wasn't there anymore. _

_"Hm?" When Diablo saw Jill was missing, he looked around. All three of them caught Jill limping her way toward the exit._

_Oblivion saw this opportunity, so she ran up behind Jill and snatched her up, running off with her._

_"Hey!" Raider immediately took off after them._

_Before Raider could get far, however, someone suddenly grabbed him by the shoulder, forcibly turning him around. It was Charon's headless body, forcing Raider to look into the gaping wound left where his head used to be._

_"What the hell?" Raider uttered, while he tried to struggle. Diablo just looked at this wide-eyed. He certainly didn't expect this..._

_"...you should know..." Chuckling, all of a sudden, a new head shot out from Charon's neck, glaring at Raider._

_However, that wasn't all._

_The moment the new head shot out, two more heads emerged from Charon's shoulders, and one of them gathering what seemed to be fire in its mouth, while the other glared back at Diablo. "...that cannot kill me... now... it's time to pay, Diablo..."_

_Diablo was petrified._

And now, he touched the bloody gash across his face with thoughts on hatred crossing his mind. "...guess I better find Kiri," he murmured to himself, disappearing into the jungle.

* * *

"...sheesh, where could he be...?" Pacing back and forth, King had a worried look on his face. "He's been gone for too long... I don't like this at all..."

"I heard some of the soldiers say that they spotted a black beast, though they were too mortified to say too much..." Queen muttered, looking out towards the woods.

"...keke?" Blinking, Ripper spotted something headed towards them. "...kekeke! It's Metal! And he found Jill!"

Indeed, emerging from a different part of the woods was Metal, who carried Jill with him.

"Oh my god! Jill!" Ani was so glad to see her, and she rushed over to help bring Jill over more quickly.

Everyone looked so...worried. Jill was _still_ confused about the fact that she had been gone for 3 days without her knowledge, and seeing everyone like this made her feel a little awkward at first.

"Oh, it's great to see you again!" Miser said, as she also ran to help get Jill over quicker. "...Metal, where did you find her?"

"I found her on a beach, over on the edge of the island." Metal replied, as he folded his arms. "Right now, though, what matters is that we both allow her to recover, and ensure that no more explosives are activated."

"Hrm..." Growling, King folded his arms. "...I thought that GUN would've found any leftovers from Eggman's time..." he muttered.

"Believe me; I was surprised that there still existed explosives from Eggman's assault on Prison Island, too..." Metal said with a nod.

…that explained the explosives, since Jill remembered that story that Tails told her once. But she was still in question as Miser, Ani, and Metal took her inside the building they were standing outside of. It was a building that Jill was unfamiliar with, that was for sure.

As they entered, King glanced at Queen. "Are you going to wait for Sage?"

"She's looking for others as we speak, King." Queen noted, as she merely folded her arms. "If she finds anyone who was wounded, Sage'll need my help treating them."

"...just be careful." King muttered, with him and Ripper entering the building as well afterward, leaving Queen outside.

Inside the building, Jill found, were flights of stairs leading downwards, next to a doorway right in front of them. Ani, Miser and Metal led her into that doorway, and she found herself in a bedroom, where Joy and Tails Doll were sleeping on a bed. A free bed there was likely meant for her.

Once they got Jill to that bed, Ani looked over Jill in despair. "…look what they've done to you," she muttered. "…nothing but skin and bones."

Jill looked down at herself to the best of her ability, and saw that Ani was right. She was so much skinner than she remembered. It was a little scary for her…

"...um... don't look so down, though..." Miser uttered, as she nodded. "We'll make sure that whoever did that to you will get what's coming to them."

"...you look hungry." Metal noted, as he sat down on a chair nearby. "You could probably use some food, Jill..."

Now that he mentioned it, Jill did feel pretty hungry. She nodded since that sounded good.

"I'll be back with something then," Ani said. "You're body probably can't handle solid food right away, so I'm starting you with some soup and some bread." So she turned and left.

Jill just watched where Ani left, still a little confused about what was going on.

"...um... I'll go help Ani get you that soup!" Miser said with a nod, quickly running after Ani.

That left Metal in the room, looking away from Jill down to the floor

Jill didn't enjoy seeing Metal like that; it always meant that something was bothering him. So she tried to reach over and perch a hand on him as a gesture of comfort.

Even as she did that, it didn't seem to help that much, though she could see a faint smile appear on Metal's lips. "...I... well, we've all been worried about you... but you're back now, so..."

Jill finally had to ask what was going on, and seeing that her coat was missing, she made a writing gesture to Metal to ask for a pen and paper. Metal nodded, as he reached for the drawer, taking out a pen and some paper for Jill to use. Jill found that she was actually capable of writing with her stabbed arm; perhaps it healed a bit despite the horrible state that her body was in. While it still stung to use, she could do it.

_Metal…what happened?_ She wrote.

Seeing that, Metal let out a sigh. "...three days ago..." he began, closing his eyes. "...after you left the pub then, you never returned. At first, King thought that you had returned to your store, but after searching the place, we realized that you weren't there, after all."

"For three days straight, everyone's been looking for you around the island, with the exception of Sage; she took care of Joy while you were gone... and then, only a few hours ago, all hell began breaking loose. People say that a monster showed up and tore through the island... which, in turn, led to the remaining explosives from all those years ago go off..."

Jill had to take in this information a minute._ …has it really been 3 days?_ She wrote shakily.

"...yes... three days..." Metal muttered, before his gaze slowly went down to the ground again.

That sure was really strange for Jill to try and comprehend. She felt like she left the pub only yesterday or something to check her shop… Between then and now, it was just a big, empty gap in her head. It some ways, it felt like yesterday, but in other ways, she was almost conscious of these three days...many contradicting feelings were involved with that.

She supposed she could wait for Sage to get here to see why she couldn't remember anything, and to straighten things out hopefully. For now, a glance at sleeping Joy reminded her of another question.

_How was Joy?_ Jill asked in writing. By the time Metal read it, Jill was suddenly almost afraid of the answer.

"...Joy..." Metal uttered, scratching the back of his neck. "...well, she missed you... but rather than tell her that you had gone missing... I merely said that you had gone on an errand..." Then, Metal held one of his hands against his head. "...I didn't want her to worry..."

Jill was…grateful that Metal did that. She couldn't bear the thought of imaging poor little Joy crying over her missing mother.

With that concern put out of the way, another arose; the one directed at Metal. He didn't look so good either, like he hadn't slept in a day or two… Metal, however, tried masking this fatigue by simply not looking directly at Jill. That wouldn't do with Jill. She decided to try and sit up, even with how weak and in pain she was, just so she could properly face Metal.

…should she try and explain the way she felt about him now? She still wasn't sure if the timing was even right; it felt too soon, and this sort of circumstance wasn't entirely appropriate…

Still, Metal tried avoiding looking at Jill, his gaze going back down at the floor.

Jill was afraid of doing this, but went ahead. She reached out to his cheek in order to bring his eyes to hers. She just didn't want him to look away. As the two looked at each other, Jill could tell just by looking at Metal's organic eye that he seemed to be depressed, even though he tried as best as he could to hide it.

Jill looked back in sympathy. Then she gave him a hug. Metal returned it, gritting his teeth. "...I've missed you..." he uttered.

Jill's heart rate increased again when she heard Metal say that, and Jill discovered that she didn't have the strength to let him go as they hugged. Metal, too, didn't let go of Jill either; however, it was a conscious decision of his not to do so. "...for a while... I... feared the worst..." he uttered, his voice slightly wavering, as if he was about to break down into tears.

_Metal... _Jill thought, feeling so much for him that moment, hugging him more tightly. Somehow, that seemed to be a trigger for Metal to return the favor, hugging Jill more tightly as well. "...I'm... so glad that you're safe..."

Without letting go of him still, Jill brought her head back so that they could see each other's faces again. She looked at him, growing more clueless why she was doing so in the first place, but she couldn't look away for anything in the world. Metal, too, found himself unable to look away from Jill, as he eventually managed a small smile. Jill made a small smile back, nervously feeling her heart pounding in her chest. Somehow, Metal felt the same sensation in his own chest. While he wasn't sure why his body reacted this way, he figured that it had to be a good thing. Swallowing quietly, Jill got a little closer, keeping her eyes locked onto Metal. Metal also found himself slowly getting closer to Jill as well, the pounding within his chest intensifying.

Was this really happening?

Jill was as calm as possible on the outside, but inside was a flurry of emotions, and like Metal, the pounding in her chest was also increasing in magnitude. She was almost afraid to let her eyes close, fearing that what she thought was going to happen was all in her imagination.

_...this feeling... _Metal thought, as he silently swallowed too. _...was this... what Jill wanted to tell me...?_ Thinking this, Metal closed his eyes. _...if that's the case... then... the feeling must be mutual..._

Jill started to see that it really wasn't her imagination. She closed her own eyes, bracing for what would happen next.

And finally, her lips found his.

It was a surprising and strange sensation for him, but Metal was still bewildered by it as the two locked lips. _...such a simple action... contains that much emotion..._ he thought. Jill shared Metal's bewilderment, even if she had experienced this emotion before, because she never really thought she would feel this way about him...

And strongly enough that she gave him another soft kiss.

While taken slightly aback, Metal quickly came to terms with these emotions...

The irony was astounding. He had gone from an emotionless machine to someone who could actually feel genuine emotions.

Strong emotions, too, as he returned the favor, giving Jill another soft kiss, too.

While they kissed, Jill could feel something building up inside her. It was extraordinary... It just blew her mind away. It was like with Brick, but...something different. Something new...had it been so long since she felt this?

Something else was building up too. It started to tickle her throat in an uncomfortable way. It got to the point where Jill actually pulled away and touched her throat wonderingly.

Seeing that, Metal blinked. "...Jill?" he uttered.

Jill felt a jump in her throat and coughed into her hand. Then she gasped. Even her gasp startled her. All her life, or for the 5 years she's lived at least, all she heard was breath, but she swore she could have heard something intermixed in the coughing and in that gasp, like...

To test this out, she formed words with her mouth.

"...M...Metal."

And her eyes were as wide as ever.

Hearing that, Metal's eyes widened, too. "...you... talked...?" he uttered.

Then, it dawned on him. Since Jill had been gone for so long, and he had been too focused on searching for her, he had forgotten about the only means that Jill could reobtain her voice... and now, she had reclaimed it.

Jill was too stunned to say anything else.

It was so mind boggling that she was motionless, unable to think or do anything.

Finally, it processed through her mind, and a smile appeared on her face; one that brought tears as well. "...I...can talk," she uttered, trying to believe it as she really said it.

"...yes..." Metal nodded, as he smiled as well, finally letting his own tears out. "...you can talk, Jill..."

"...Metal..." hearing herself be able to say his name was life-changing for her. She couldn't hold it anymore, and she threw her arms around him while burying her face in his shoulder. When she did that, Metal could only smile, as he wrapped his arms around Jill as well.

_...she's gotten her voice back... it's a miracle..._ he thought.

Even then, she wept only a little since they were tears of happiness and Jill looked back up at Metal. "...even if my voice came back...I don't know what to say," she uttered breathlessly.

"...it's been five years..." Metal uttered, as he smiled. "...the way I see it, you don't need to worry about what to say."

She wiped her eyes, smiling back at him. Then after awhile, she blushed while she thought about what they were doing moments ago before this.

Noting that, Metal blushed as well, though he didn't seem to notice. "...something on your mind?" he inquired.

"Oh," Jill wasn't expecting him to question it, and she looked a little flustered at first. Then she calmed as she stared at him. "...Metal...do you...really feel that way about me?"

Metal blinked, before he scratched the back of his head. "...it's hard to explain..." he uttered, placing a hand on his chest. "...but I have to say... yes... this is a genuine feeling, Jill..." he said, giving Jill a smile.

Jill smiled when she heard his answer.

Seeing her smile, Metal felt at peace, briefly closing his eyes to reflect upon it. _...truly... a great feeling..._ he thought, before looking back at Jill.

Jill wasn't sure if she would scare Metal by doing this, but she couldn't resist it. She slowly leaned forward and gave him another gentle kiss. This time, however, Metal wasn't intimidated by this act, giving Jill a gentle kiss of his own. Jill wrapped her arms around him as they kissed, holding him close. Following her example, Metal wrapped his arms around Jill as well. Jill felt a warm flame ignite inside her, and the kiss grew deeper. While he was inexperienced, Metal still played along, deepening the kiss as well and feeling his emotions running rampant through his body. Jill's own emotions thrived on that warm flame inside her as it grew, and she kissed more passionately. Still trying to keep up with Jill, Metal intensified his own kiss. Jill was amazed at herself. She suddenly felt like she needed him much more than she thought she did, and she never wanted this to end.

Before, she was afraid to admit it, but now could finally admit what she felt for him...

Love.

Her fingers trailed smoothly across the surface of his skin on his arms and his chest. As she did that, Metal began gently stroking Jill's arms in response. Since she had no jacket, Metal was pretty much stroking her own skin. She quivered at his touch, not out of fear...but out of a strange delight. Her thoughts started drifting onto wanting to go further...and then she grew nervous.

Further? With him?

It was as if Metal realized that Jill grew nervous because he eventually pulled away, looking at her with a concerned look. "...is something wrong, Jill?" he uttered.

"I..." Jill stammered on what to say. How was she going to approach it with Metal? "I...don't know how to say it..." she muttered.

"...say what, Jill?" Metal inquired.

Jill swallowed again. "I...think I want to..."

"...you... want to...?" Metal raised an eyebrow. "...if it's embarrassing to say it out loud, you could whisper it..." he suggested.

If not now, then when will Jill ever get the strength to tell him? So with careful consideration about what she was going to say, she went ahead and whispered it to him. Hearing what she whispered, Metal's eyes widened, and he could only look at Jill. "...really?" he uttered.

Jill bit her lip, wondering if it was too forward...but she nodded.

Then there was a gentle knock at the door, interrupting them. That surprised Metal, quickly shooting a glance towards the door. With a brief sigh, he looked back at Jill, whispering something in her ear. "...under more appropriate circumstances... just tell me when you feel ready..."

After whispering that, he pulled away, glancing back at the door. "...who is it?" he called.

"Just me and Miser; oh yeah, and Sage made it here too." Ani's voice called in from behind the door. "We didn't want to just come in, in case you guys were talking or something, but I have Jill's soup. Can we come in?"

Jill opened her mouth to answer, and suddenly remembered that they didn't know she had her voice back yet. In fact, that moment she realized that a lot of them would be shocked beyond belief if they found out her voice was back. They were going to ask how she got it back too... and boy, would that be an interesting conversation. Figuring Metal would answer instead, she slowly laid back down on the bed; finally remembering how weak she really was.

After casting a glance at Jill, Metal let out a small sigh, before looking at the door. "...sure; come in." he said with a nod.

Ani walked in carrying a tray with Jill's food, followed by Miser, and sure enough, Sage entered the room as well. With all this going on, Joy awoke, and looked curiously at them as she rubbed her eyes. Then she glanced over, and the biggest smile appeared on her face. "Mama! You're back!" she exclaimed, hopping out of the bed and running to Jill.

Jill smiled back, and watched as Joy climbed onto her bed, throwing her little arms around her mother.

_"Huh? Jill's back?"_ Tails Doll uttered, as he slowly fluttered off Joy's bed, noticing Jill. _"...she _is _back! Big Bro, you found her!" _Laughing, Tails Doll fluttered towards Metal, without looking away from Jill.

Whilst Miser couldn't help but smile at the sight of Joy embracing her mother, Sage had more thoughtful look on her face, looking at both Jill and Metal. Ani also smiled at such a heartwarming reunion, and she set the tray on the end table next to Jill's bed.

"I missed you lots and lots, Mama!" Joy said, so excited that Jill was back. Hearing Joy say that, Metal couldn't help but smile as he closed his eyes. Jill looked at Joy with a smile, and underneath, she was excited as well. Just think, she could speak to her daughter right now...

In fact, she finally decided to do so, because there was no way she wouldn't.

"...I missed you too, Joy."

One could literally hear a pin drop in the room, as everyone could only look at Jill in absolute astonishment.

"...did you just..." Miser uttered, as she could only look at Jill in surprise.

_"...she _did _just do that!" _Tails Doll said in awe.

Humming, Sage glanced at Metal, who looked at Jill with some surprise, though not as much as the rest, for obvious reasons.

Joy was just as amazed as everybody, staring at her mother. "Mama..." soon, a smile reappeared on her face. "...you talkeded! Mama, you really talkeded!"

Jill felt like crying more tears of happiness, but she held it in. "...that's right Joy," she uttered. "I talked..."

Good thing Ani had already set the tray on the table before; she probably would've dropped it when she heard Jill speak. Watching Joy see this and her response...it was pure magic.

"...oh my gosh... it's true..." Miser uttered, before she looked at Ani. "...we... we need to let the others know! This is incredible!"

"...yeah!" Ani finally replied. "C'mon Miser!" And Ani booked it out of the room.

"Ah, wait up!" Miser called, quickly running after Ani.

Once they left, Sage found herself a chair and sat, still looking at Jill and Metal. "...so, you've gotten your voice back, Jill." she said with a smile. "Congratulations."

Jill smiled a little bashfully. "Thanks..."

"How'd you get it back?" Joy asked, making Jill turn red. It wasn't bad enough that Jill was blushing, but Joy noticed it. "Mama, do you have a sunburn?"

"No, she's just a bit tired, Joy." Sage said with a slight smile. "Why don't you and Tails Doll step outside for a little while? You'll get more time to spend with her when she's fully rested."

"Mkay." Joy climbed out of Jill's bed and she and Tails Doll headed for the door.

"...I love you, Joy," Jill said, making Joy stop and smile back.

"I love you too, Mama," and she and her favorite plushie left out the door.

Jill wiped her eyes from the tears that she wasn't able to hold back.

Sage couldn't help but smile, before she looked back at the Jill and Metal.

Just by looking at her, Metal realized that she already knew how Jill got her voice back. _...how are we ever gonna hide anything from you? _He thought.

By the time Jill was done wiping her eyes, she too got the same idea as Metal. She nervously smiled at Sage. "...hi...Sage," she muttered, turning red again.

Chuckling, Sage used her powers to silently close the door, locking it as well. "...my, my, my... who would have thought that it'd come to this?" she mused.

Jill averted her eyes away from Sage uneasily. Metal, however, simply looked at the raven.

"Now, I can tell that this is pretty awkward for both of you." Sage noted, as she folded her arms. "So, just because I'm that nice, this will remain a secret between the three of us, until you two feel ready to let people know about it."

With that out of the way, Jill finally looked back at Sage. "…Sage, there's a problem," she finally said. "Everyone's told me that I've been gone for three days…but I don't even remember anything after leaving the pub all those days ago when I was going to check on my shop."

"...I see... you want me to check it out, right?" Sage hummed, as she folded her arms. "I'll need to dive into your mind to make sure I catch the details, though..."

"...Jill... Sage..." Metal uttered, as he looked at the two. "...do you mind if I tag along as well?"

"...you mean diving into her mind?" Sage inquired, and sure enough, Metal nodded. "...well... what do you say, Jill?" she hummed, glancing at the ewe.

Jill nodded. "It's fine with me…"

"Alright, then..." Nodding, Sage stood up from her chair, approaching Jill, before placing her hands on Jill's head. "Metal, place your hand on my hand."

Metal nodded, doing what Sage instructed. "...let's go."

At that point, everything around the three shattered like glass, and they found themselves in a white, empty void. "...alright, Jill... focus on when you left the pub. With any luck, we'll find out something." Sage said.

Jill closed her eyes, and concentrated.

…shortly, they heard a voice. "There's nothing in her memories…but I have what you're looking for."

Hearing that voice, Sage blinked. "...her?" she uttered.

Metal looked around him, a slight scowl on his face_. ...so... she's coming out..._ he thought. _...I've wanted to talk to her about her behavior for a while... _"...Callous."

The person they were looking for appeared in the white void, standing in front of a demonic, dark looking door.

Jill looked a little surprised to see her here. "…what are you doing here?"

"Like I said before, I have what you guys are looking for," And Callous knocked against the door. "It's all behind this door."

"...right behind there?" Sage uttered.

"...I suppose we'll take your word for it." Metal uttered, glaring at Callous. "...but once we're done there, I'd like a word with you, in private."

"Fine," Callous answered, and just when Jill walked up, Callous stopped her, "Hold on a minute there; you're not going in."

Jill was confused. "Huh?"

"I don't think you'll be able to handle what's in there," Callous said. "You went through some pretty bad things, and I'm not even sure the Toaster could handle it either, with what's going on between the two of you…"

"...is that right?" Metal uttered, as he looked back at the door_. ...just... what could have happened there...?  
_  
"...before we go in, I have a question..." Sage began, looking at Callous. "...why is it that we wouldn't find anything behind this door in Jill's memories?"

"Jill's memories were erased by somebody named Oblivion," Callous answered. "But since there's two of us in one body, she failed to erase _my_ memories of the experience."

"...Oblivion?" Sage uttered, blinking. _...that unicorn...? Did she-_ Gritting her teeth, Sage quickly ran through the door.

"Sage!" Metal called, before he quickly looked at Jill. "...I'll be back in a bit!" he said, before following Sage.

The door shut behind the two, and Jill looked at Callous questionably. "It's for the best," Callous told her.

Inside, Sage and Metal entered through an unpleasant dark void.

Looking around her, Sage gulped. "...this place... I don't like it."

"...me neither..." Metal nodded. "...it feels so... vile..."

Just for them to see, numerous openings appeared in the void, all of them containing somewhat unclear visions of things. One of them showed Jill tied down against the wall, and beaten with numerous tools; a whip, a stick, and other things. Another opening showed Jill sitting in despair on the floor, surrounded by dead bodies in a small room.

"...my god..." Sage uttered. "...she went through this... for three days?"

Metal could only watch this in stunned silence, simply looking at the screens.

Another one showed her, again, lying on the floor, but they managed to see someone towering over her. The image cleared a little more, showing it to be Raider shooting her a wicked smirk. Jill looked very afraid as Raider pinned her down, and very explicit things followed.

Sage covered her mouth in shock at what she saw. "...he... didn't..."

Still, Metal remained silent, watching in the same shock._ ...Raider... that bastard..._

As they moved farther on through the openings, most of the same horrors seemed to repeat, but while going through the timeline, the images grew clearer, and more graphic; Jill being whipped, Jill lying in the room with the dead bodies, starving, and Raider ravishing her once or twice more.

One that was different out of the rest of them was a scene with Diablo, Raider, Oblivion, and Jill. They were arguing about something…

The two of them caught words, "erase memories," and "except Callous…"

Then a dragon-hydra Mobian burst into the scene, and just as Raider cut his head off, Oblivion took Jill and ran.

"...Oblivion..." Sage uttered, watching the unicorn pull Jill out of there. "...don't tell me..."

Metal blinked, as he glanced at Sage. "...what is it?"

"...I have a feeling... that my suspicions will be confirmed on the next screen we see..." Sage muttered.

The last scene they finally saw was Oblivion lying Jill down on the sands of the shore on the edge of the island. Jill was in broken tears, and Oblivion felt so much pity for her. This one was probably the most clear one, simply because it may have been the most recent memory.

"I won't erase all of your memories," she said. "…but I must erase the memories of the last three days. No one deserves to remember such suffering…that, and there are personal reasons of my own I must do so." She looked at Jill sadly. "…do I have your permission to do this?"

Jill nodded, and Oblivion touched her head while a tear fell from her own eyes. "...I am so sorry this all happened to you..." and the image disappeared. All of the images disappeared.

"...I knew it." Sage uttered. "...she removed those memories... to protect Jill..."

"...Diablo... Raider..." Uttering those two names, Metal seethed with rage. "...I'll kill them... they do not deserve to live, after what they've done!"

"...let's not act rashly about this, Metal." Sage closed her eyes. "...what they did was horrible, yes... but killing them is far too kind a fate for them." Then, she looked at Metal. "...once we're done here, I'll pay Raider a visit."

That same door reappeared for the two of them, and opened to a bright light.

Looking towards the doorway, both of them began walking towards it. "...never let Jill find out what we've seen, Sage." Metal muttered.

"...of course." Sage nodded, before the two entered the light.

At that point, both of them pulled away from Jill's head, Sage looking a bit tired from having delved into Jill's mind. Jill fell back on the pillow, feeling a little fatigued herself, and it didn't help in her condition. Seeing that, Metal placed a hand on her shoulder; out of the three, he was the one who seemed the least fatigued from Sage's mind dive.

"...well... that was informative..." Sage muttered, as she stood up, before glancing at the door, unlocking it with her powers. "...I need to go and look for others outside, again. Someone could still be injured after the chaos that erupted..." she muttered, before heading for the door.

Jill found in peculiar for Sage just to leave like that. "…what did you and Sage find?" she asked, turning to Metal.

Metal looked back at Jill, before eventually looking away. "...I'm sorry... but I can't tell you." he muttered. "Needless to say... Callous did not exaggerate."

"…I see," Jill decided not to press the issue; especially when she felt an ache in her stomach, reminding her that she ought to eat soon. She tried to reach for the tray on the end table, but she couldn't quite get it. Metal eventually reached for the tray himself, gently placing it on Jill's lap.

"...there you go." he said with a nod.

"Thank you," Jill said to him, taking up the spoon of soup.

* * *

"Tch...it wasn't worth this much trouble..." grumbled a voice.

He watched each of his computer monitors; some were currently deleting loads and loads of data, while others were loading data into a portable data stick. It sure was a pain to have to wipe out the evidence, but what else could he do? It would only be a matter of time before they figured out that he was in on Diablo's insane experiment.

Raider could only think; how was he not aware of Oblivion's little pet? That girl was damn good when she kept a secret...especially with that little gift of hers.

While he was thinking, he eventually heard someone knocking on the door.

Raider only gave the door a look, and rechecked the monitors. _...good, everything's loaded onto it,_ he thought, finishing up and yanking out the data stick. Now then...it definitely couldn't be Diablo or Kiri, since they never knock. "...who is it?" he called out.

"...guess who."

Before Raider knew it, the door was blasted off its hinges and an invisible force suddenly pinned him up against the wall.

"AGH!" It sure hurt when he was slammed against the wall, and he knew only one person with that kind of power. "...Gee, what brings you here, Sage?" he grumbled.

"You should know perfectly well why I'm here, Raider." Sage uttered in a murderous tone, entering the room with a glare at the trapped ox. "You should be thankful that King doesn't know of what you and Diablo did to poor Jill... the island would be in a worse state than it is after that monster attack."

"You finally found Jill and read her mind, I'm guessing?" Raider murmured. "Figures..."

"Indeed." Sage nodded, as she stopped right in front of Raider, glaring at him. "So, you like taking advantage of women, don't you?" she uttered, before placing her hand on his head. "Well... let's see how long you'll keep that mentality."

Raider didn't like the sound of that. "So...I suppose this won't be like how you killed Bloom and Gloom, right?" he uttered.

Sage scoffed. "Compared to what I'm going to do to you... those two were lucky."

Her eyes started glowing as she used her powers to rearrange Raider's mind; paving the way for his lust to be prioritized over anything else. _Soon, this'll be the only thing you can think about... _she thought.

His mind sank into a daze of numerous thoughts suddenly. His face became flushed, and he swore he could feel his temperature rise a notch in the heat of his dirty mind. Just what was this supposed to do to him anyway? Raider was surprised that Sage could do this to him, but it didn't seem that bad at all.

"...there." Sage uttered. "Now, time to give you what you deserve." she said, before suddenly and forcefully kissing him. Shocked at first, Raider melted into it since the kissing was feeding his lustful desires. Sage was quickly overwhelming him, kissing him passionately whilst carresing his arm.

_...shatter._

At that point, Raider felt a stinging sensation in the back of his mind. While he noticed this, somehow, he tried to ignore it since Sage was evoking his desires further and further, and he didn't want her to stop. Too bad he was pinned to the wall; otherwise, his hands would already be all over her.

_...let's see... how about we take one certain memory... _Sage thought, as she was growing more and more passionate. _...and snap it in half?_

Just then, a stronger sting ran through Raider's head as his memories of abusing Jill during the past three days seemed to crack. At first, Raider was alarmed that he lost that memory, but then his concern sank, since he no longer remembered what she took from him. That, and with Sage on him like this, he grew hotter with his burning desires for the flesh.

_...next..._ Now, as Sage grew outright brutal with this make-out, several stings of pain flew through Raider's head, as memory after memory cracked, snapped and shattered.

Raider moaned as they made out; painfully because those stings were bringing about a cruel migraine to his head, and longingly, because Sage was getting kinkier. He was starting to realize what this was doing to him, how Sage was breaking him down little by little in a torturing way, and yet, he still didn't want Sage to stop with how frisky she was. He was growing afraid of her power...

_I see that you're realizing what I'm doing to you. _Sage thought in his mind, forcing her tongue into Raider's mouth, as not only memories were being destroyed, but also bits and pieces of everything he had learned over the years. _Do you know why you are suffering? It was brought onto you by the same primal lust that you are exhibiting as we speak._

_...stop it,_ he thought desperately, while his tongue danced with hers.

_Why should I?_ Sage thought, as more and more pieces of his mind was systematically broken down. _Did you ever stop when Jill pleaded the same to you?_

_You know she can't speak; there's no way that she could plead, _Raider thought, but was bewildered by what Sage meant by doing this to Jill, since that memory was erased long ago. _And I'm not sure whether or not I really did rape her...but I bet I enjoyed it._

_...then I'll ensure that you'll never enjoy intercourse ever again_. Now, Sage pressed her entire body against Raider, rapidly destroying his mind so that everything he knew, everything he had ever done, was annihilated. All that eventually remained was his perception of reality, which was itself slowly crumbling. Raider's mind was practically losing the conscious thought process itself, and while he slowly was losing the struggle in his mind, his breathing rate excitedly increased while feeling Sage's body against his own. Small streams of blood were trickling down his ears now.

_...the only thing that still resides in your mind is your subconscious. Once that shatters, you'll fall into a vegetative state, and might as well be called dead._ Sage thought. _In essence, I'll kill you._

_...no..._ but Raider couldn't control himself. He was so driven by lust that he had no strength in him left to try and stop her.

_...however... _At that point, Sage pulled away, glaring at him. "...killing you would be an act of mercy... and you deserve no mercy." As she stepped away from the ox, she allowed him to collapse to the floor.

Raider immediately scrambled away from Sage like she was the plague, losing all sense of lust that she had earlier pulled out in him.

Sage merely looked down at him with a disgusted look, wiping her mouth as approaching him. "...I saw that you tried hiding away the evidence regarding this... show me where you stored the data."

"...wha?" Raider only tried to get away from her, not knowing what in the world she was talking about. Heck, he couldn't remember anything, except that he didn't want this woman to touch him again. He was unaware that the data stick was still in his hands.

Seeing that data stick, however, Sage quickly pulled it out of his hands with her mind, letting it float to her. "...I'm not done with you yet, though." she said, before lifting Raider off the ground. "I have someone who wants to see you." Then, as she walked out of the room, she pulled Raider after her.

"NO! NOOOOO!" Raider screamed, struggling even if he couldn't break free. He was just so deathly afraid of this woman now, and of what she was doing to him. The kissing...the touching...it was horrible!

Truly, he had lost his mind.

Sage ignored his screams, calmly walking out of the building with the ox after her. Once they were outside, she looked around. "...you can come out, now; he's all ready for you."

"...mmmh... those screams... the pleas for mercy... just the way I like them." a sultry, female voice chuckled.

Raider's eyes widened when he heard the voice of another woman. "N-no! W-w-what are you doing?"

Looking back at Raider, Sage actually smirked. "...giving you just what you deserve." she said.

"Mmmh... a new toy..." At that point, the voice's owner approached Sage, looking at Raider with a hungry gaze. "...he's all mine, then?" Hex mused, before she looked at Sage.

"...take him." Sage said, before bringing Raider closer to Hex, who wasted no time in wrapping him up with her tentacles.

Raider tried to struggle. "No! PLEASE NO!"

"Mmmh, he looks so miserable!" Hex laughed, nuzzling Raider's cheek. "I'm sure that we'll have a lot of fun together, Raider..." With a smirk, she looked back at Sage. "...this doesn't come free of charge, does it?"

"...I want you to look for that creature that started the chaos around here in the first place." Sage said with a nod. "If you find it, don't make yourself known to it, but let me know where you saw it."

"Mmmh... if you insist." Hex chuckled, before looking back at Raider. "...I do hope that you're ready for me, Raider..." she said with a smirk, as she began walking off, pulling the ox after her.

Raider was actually crying as she pulled him away, screaming for mercy.

Watching Hex pull away Raider, Sage scoffed. _...that's what you get for abusing my friend, you son of a bitch._ she thought, before looking at the data stick. _...now... there's one more culprit who needs punishing. _With this in mind, she took to the sky.

* * *

Tasha was having it hard. Those explosives hit her home in the jungle, which meant that some of her people were harmed. Casualties were a lot less than the injured, but that didn't make her feel much better. She was just trying to give assistance to those who needed it was all...

"Tasha," she turned her head from one patient, looking up at the Chieftain and King. "If you would, come with me," the Chieftain spoke, bringing Tasha to her feet.

"Yes Father."

The three of them walked out away from where the injured tribe members were resting on grass beds. She couldn't help but look back at them in despair. King, during all this, remained silent, merely looking from those injured by this blast.

The Chieftain brought the two into a hut made out of sticks and leaves, so that he could talk to them in private. "King has informed me on the situation," he began, looking at Tasha. "How many of those caught in the blasts accounted for?"

Tasha looked down at the ground. "32 injured...9 dead," she muttered.

"...I see," the Chieftain murmured, brushing his ragged gray beard. "King tells me the devices responsible for those explosions have been on this island long before we of the tribe colonized the island, so no one is to blame for them at least; except that they were triggered by some...creature, as King's men have gathered. Is this true?"

"As much as I have heard and seen, myself, it is true," Tasha answered, looking back at him.

King merely looked at the Chieftain in silence; until he would be adressed by him, he found it more polite to let the elder finish.

"...Father, if I may speak," Tasha said. "We need to relocate the injured elsewhere. It isn't safe for them to remain in the jungle, in case there are still explosives around, and they need more intensive medical care than we alone can offer."

"What do you suggest then?" The Chieftain asked.

Tasha looked uneasily at King, and then away from then in general. "I wish to bring our people into Safe Haven's care...there are enough people there who can offer that kind of service, and they would be protected by the solders if anything else were to happen."

The Chieftain brushed his beard again thoughtfully. His daughter had some guts to make a suggestion like that, and while he would refuse, he wasn't stupid either. All their homes were destroyed, and most of the injured were likely the warriors that tried to get non-warriors and families to safety. There wasn't much here for them.

He turned to King on the matter. "Do I have your word on that? That you can care for my people?"

"...you have my word, Chieftain." King nodded, placing his hand on his own chest. "I'll care for your people as if they were my own men."

The Chieftain was convinced...for now. "Very well," he said, turning back to Tasha. "Transport the injured to Safe Haven as quickly as possible without trouble. I will remain here with those who were unharmed, so that we may rebuild the homes destroyed."

Tasha nodded.

"And King," He looked back at the tiger sternly. "I would appreciate it if you could do this in a way where my people are separate from your soldiers; if you still remember our agreement."

"...I still remember it." King nodded. "I'll work something out."

"Thank you," The Chieftain said. "...now move on, King. I still wish to speak to my daughter, alone..."

"...sure." King nodded, as he walked out of the hut. However, he didn't leave the area just yet, as he stood a bit away from the entrance, so he wasn't seen by either Tasha or the Chieftain.

"I understand that this happened outside of their control," King heard the Chieftain speak, and he didn't sound to happy.

"...Father?" Tasha muttered in questioning.

"I would think that you would be on your guard better than that, Tasha," her father continued. "I asked you to be my eyes and ears there; looking to see if there would be anything to threaten us. That would have included things that they weren't aware of."

Hearing this conversation, King blinked, though he didn't make a sound so he would make his presence known to the two of them.

"So what I want to know is what seemed to keep you busy from your duties?" The Chieftain asked.

Silence.

"...you were fraternizing with King, weren't you?" the Chieftain supposed.

More silence.

"...I see," he murmured.

"...Father, please," Tasha started.

"Tasha, I believe I told you before that you were not allowed to be so friendly towards him," he said.

"...but why, Father?" Tasha asked. "Do you still hold some vendetta against him for what happened years ago?"

"I do not hold a grudge, child," her father spoke. "...but I do not entirely trust him."

Hearing that, King blinked, as he looked towards the hut_. ...he doesn't trust me...?_ he thought.

"A man with power like what he has; both over an army and over supernatural abilities, can be very dangerous based on his intentions," The Chieftain continued. "He has tried to prove to me that his intentions were of good nature, that I admit...but I trusted someone once with supernatural abilities, and many things have been taken from me because I was not careful."

"...Father...you never told me this," Tasha uttered, sounding surprised.

"Regardless, I do not want you to mingle so much with him," The Chieftain finished. "This...relationship you have with him could cloud yours and his judgment, and more accidents like this could happen; perhaps with a worse outcome than was produced moments ago. Have I made myself clear?"

Hearing that, King's heart felt heavy, as he prepared to leave. _...I... guess that's that... _he thought.

"...yes Father," King could hear Tasha say, before he was out of earshot from the hut.

* * *

"...hnn..." After the chaos had died down, Charon had brought Oblivion to the top of the mountain, where he was currently resting; all three of his heads in a deep slumber.

Oblivion sat with him, resting her head against his chest as he slept. Now what? Everyone had seen him...and with the trouble ensued by his chaotic nature, they would be out looking for him.

"...well, I was wondering where you two had gone." a male voice suddenly chuckled, as someone approached the two from behind Oblivion. "Though, I have to say, even I was surprised by how everyone got to learn of Charon's existence..."

Oblivion lifted her head off of Charon's chest, and turned to the one standing behind her. "...what do I do?" she muttered worriedly.

"...well, you need to keep Charon under control, that's for sure." As it turned out, the one standing behind her was Spiel, though now, he also had Krieg standing behind him. "With him having made a number on the island, though, many of the soldiers have to relocate... so, I think we can come to an agreement, Oblivion."

"...about what?" Oblivion asked questionably.

"Well, it's all about equal exchange." Spiel chuckled. "Here's the deal. I, along with my group of followers, move our camp to the bottom of the path leading up here, ensuring that no one will come and snoop around for Charon... however, in exchange for that..." Then, he smirked. "...you and Charon become part of my followers."

Oblivion didn't like the offer that much, but a desperate glance at Charon got her to thinking. She wasn't sure how Charon was going to feel about this...

"...I agree on my terms, if Charon will agree on his," she said, turning back to Spiel. "It's only fair to have his consent on this."

"Of course, of course." Spiel chuckled. "Y'see, unlike people like Diablo and Raider, I'm not such a bad guy. I wouldn't force ya into doing anything that'd make you feel uneasy." Then, he glanced at Charon. "...you'd best ask him what he feels about the offer." he noted, before he and Krieg began walking off. "I'll be down at the bottom, to hear your answer, Oblivion."

With them gone, Oblivion took one more look at Charon asleep. Whether or not it was a good idea to do so, she started to shake him to wake up. "Charon..."

It took a short while, but eventually, Charon blinked, as his main head glanced up at Oblivion. "...what... is it...?" he uttered.

"...Spiel," She whispered. "...he said that he and his men would camp at the bottom of the mountain pass to make sure we remain safe and hidden...but in exchange, we become his followers..." She looked around, feeling uncomfortable. "...I don't like the idea, but I wasn't sure what else to do. I haven't agreed to it...because I wanted to know what your thoughts were on it."

Charon hummed, as he had a thoughtful look on his face. "...this offer..." he muttered, before he looked back at Oblivion. "...will you be safe, if you agree with it...?"

"...I presume so," Oblivion answered, looking back at him. "Spiel doesn't seem to have any intentions of harming either of us..."

"...if that's the case..." Charon muttered, giving Oblivion a small smile. "...as long as you're safe... then I don't care what I need to do..."

Oblivion smiled back at him. Sure, she was a bit nervous, but she was willing to do the same for Charon as he would for her. She placed her head back on his chest and closed her eyes. "...then it's settled."

With a low, yet calm growl, Charon closed his eyes. "...it is..." he muttered, before he fell back into slumber.

* * *

Jill was fast asleep early that evening, holding a sleeping Joy in her arms while they shared her bed. That left the other bed open for Metal as he, Snap, and Tails Doll sat in that room.

_"...Ever since I met her, I've always wondered what Jill would sound like if she could talk," _Snap remarked in a murmur. _"Guess I don't have to wonder anymore."_

"...indeed..." Metal muttered, as he simply looked at Jill and Joy, a smile on his face.

_"...I never imaged the things that would happen though,"_ Snap continued. _"This incident with the creature and the explosives...and the injured coming from the tribe in the jungle to the facility here."_

"...it was something no one could have anticipated..." Metal mused, before he momentarily closed his eyes.

_"...yeah,"_ Snap sat back in his chair, and surfed through the database of pictures in his mind. From the first one of Striker, he had taken quite a lot of photos. His focus suddenly fell on one, and he smiled. _"...are you ever going to tell Jill about the time Joy had a nightmare, so you let her crawl in bed with you?" _he mentioned, looking at a photo where Metal and Joy were sound asleep. It was adorable, that was for sure...

Metal blinked, as he sheepishly scratched his cheek. "...you... took a picture of that?" he chuckled. "...well... maybe I'll tell her later..."

Snap looked at more pictures of Joy in his head. _"...you know, I think she's growing attached to you,"_ he said.

"...we have spent a lot of time together..." Metal hummed, as he glanced at Joy.

Snap suddenly recalled the written document that he and Metal read only a week ago; the one concerning Joy's real father. He also started thinking about what relevance it had to what he and Metal were talking about _"...Metal, how long do you plan to stay here?" _Snap asked.

Metal was silent, thinking about this for a while. "...to tell you the truth, Snap..." he muttered, before he looked up at the ceiling. "...I don't have an answer to that question."

_"...if you end up leaving later on,"_ Snap said. "_It could be tough on Joy...I'm starting to think she might see you as kind of a...dad."_

Had this issue been brought up earlier, Metal would have acted surprised... however, he merely sat in silence whilst looking at the ceiling, contemplating Snap's words. "...you know... I've been thinking the same thing..."

_"...I wonder what Jill's going to think of that,"_ Snap murmured, totally unaware of what the two of them had done earlier today.

"...hm." Metal hummed, before he looked back at Jill and Joy.

_"Well, you should get some sleep Metal,"_ Snap suggested. _"You haven't slept that well since Jill disappeared, so you should make up the sleep you've missed."_

Metal blinked, before he eventually nodded. "...yes... I've neglected sleep for quite some time, now..." he muttered, before he lied down on the bed. "...this is new..." he mused.

_"...what's new?"_ Snap asked.

"...no... nothing." Metal shrugged. "...good night, Snap..." he muttered, before slowly closing his eyes.

_"Good night, Metal,"_ Snap said, as Metal drifted off from snooze to deep sleep.

_...this was... different._

_I found myself not in a dark, empty void, nor a dank, foggy swamp, but rather, a plain and simple meadow of grass. Judging from the scenery, it was dusk. "...is there a reason for this kind of area?" I mused out loud._

_"I don't know. Maybe you could handle a change in scenery? Or did you like the other two places better?"_

_Hearing that voice, I folded my arms. "...I'm not complaining, Callous... but it's just a bit strange, to see something so different, after all these years..."_

_She was standing there at my side, looking out at the horizon. "You wanted to talk to me?" Callous figured._

_"...actually, yes." I nodded, before I turned to face Callous. "...I wanted to discuss your less-than-subtle ways of trying to protect Joy."_

_"Oh, you mean the whole 'kill those guys and draw on the walls with blood' thing I did 4 days ago, right?" Callous supposed. How...oddly specific she was... However, her being specific didn't deter me. _

_"...yes, that's what I mean." I muttered. "I understand that you did it to protect Joy from Diablo... but I don't exactly approve of your method of doing so."_

_"Hey, c'mon. What else would you expect of me?" Callous said. "Besides, it was a way that actually got that annoying leopard's attention...the wrong attention anyway, but he noticed it."_

_"...however, because of that, I initially assumed that it was his doing rather than yours..." I muttered, before looking away. "...and that, in turn, led to Jill's capture."_

_"You still beating yourself up over it?" Callous groaned, rolling her eyes. "Gee, you're almost as bad as her..."_

_"She was gone for three days!" I snapped, quickly glaring back at Callous. "If that creature hadn't caused havoc across the island, she could have been Diablo's prisoner for even longer!"_

_Callous scowled at me. "I wouldn't let that happen."_

_"...wouldn't you?" I uttered, simply glaring at her. "It certainly didn't seem like you had any intention of aiding her in escaping during these past three days, Callous."_

_"Diablo tortured her just so he could draw me out," Callous growled. "If I came out, it would've given him what he wanted, and I wasn't about to let some crazed lunatic try and control me like some damn tool."_

_"...him, control you?" I spat. "If Novagod couldn't keep you on a leash, I don't see how Diablo would be capable of doing so!"_

_"Okay!" Callous yelled, throwing her hands up in the air. "Maybe I wasn't satisfied with how things turned out! Both she and I lost people we loved, and yet she's still happy while I'm down-right miserable!" Then she spun away from me in a huff. "...and believe me. That stupid vampire managed to put some kind of leash on me; the whole thing where if Jill dies, then I die too, remember?"_

_I wanted to make a comment about how on earth Diablo would be able to bind Callous as Novagod had done with that handicap, but when she spoke about being miserable... "...you still miss Johnny." I uttered._

_"Whatever gave you that idea?" Callous shot back sarcastically,_

_And a series of laughter cut our conversation short._

_Both Callous and I looked over in the distance of the grassy field, and we saw Joy frolicking through the tall grass up to her mother, who tossed her up into the air and caught her; both of them sharing a laughter of happiness. Was this part of my dream, or... was it something else? It was distracting enough that I lost focus on Callous for a moment._

_Callous glanced at me and studied my expression. "...you amaze me sometimes, you know that?" she said, with her hands on her hips._

_Blinking, I looked back at Callous. "...what's that supposed to mean?" I inquired._

_"Think about it," Callous said. "You just made-out with the girl that, in the beginning, was your arch enemy in the way of world domination."_

_I instantly blushed upon hearing that, looking away from Callous. "...it's..." I began, though I just couldn't find the words I wanted to utter._

_Callous chuckled in amusement. "That is just too cute...It actually makes me wonder what Sonic and his friends would think of it."_

_"...that would be... interesting to know..." I muttered._

_"I'll tell you what was interesting," Callous said, growing a wide smirk. "...what she whispered to you."_

_Hearing that, I instantly reeled away from Callous in surprise, as I could only look away from her. "...that's..." Again, I found myself simply unable to finish my thoughts._

_Callous just bent over and laughed. "You're a riot to tease, you know that?" she laughed._

_I said nothing, as I simply looked at Callous._

_"Seriously though," Callous said, calming down with a smirk. "I actually want to know what you think about what she said..."_

_"...I..." With a small scowl, I folded my arms, trying to ignore the fact that I felt my cheeks flush even more. "...if... she's still willing to go through with it, then I..." I couldn't even hope to finish the sentence; even if I would try to comply with what Jill had whispered to me... even thinking about it seemed awkward for me._

_"It's a first for you, as I can see," Callous chuckled._

_"...it... should be obvious..." I muttered, closing my eyes. "...but if it's with her..."_

_Callous raised her brow in more amusement. "And to think, that you thought it was despicable; course, that was when you watched me and Cal going at it..." She smirked. "Hey, now that I think about it, when it comes down to it, you might know what to do after all."_

_Again, I blinked. "...I... I'm not sure if that's the case..." I muttered._

_"Okay, I think I had enough fun for now," Callous chuckled. "Would you happen to have anything else you want to get off your chest, or are we done here?"_

_"...there is one more thing..." I uttered, as I looked at Callous. "...about Novagod... for the past few days, he hasn't pestered me even once. I've spent so long with him trying to break me, that him suddenly vanishing fuels a sense of paranoia... tell me, Callous; do you know what he's planning?"_

_Callous became pretty serious for the first time in awhile. "I don't," she answered. "And I can't reach him. It's like he's blocking everybody off...which means he's definitely up to something. I don't think you're going to get him either, until he starts to execute whatever he's got planned."_

_"...that's not good..." I muttered, as I folded my arms. "...but whatever it is he's planned, I'll see to it that it fails. I won't let him escape from the prison he's been confined to."_

_"You'd better." Callous grumbled. "If there's one thing you and I can agree on, it's that at least." And poof. She was gone within a puff of black smoke. _

_I looked over, and Jill and Joy were still there. Now they were just looking at the golden horizon, admiring it, while Jill held Joy's tiny hand. Seeing that, a small smile crossed my lips. ...that's right... I thought, closing my eyes. ...I need to protect them from Novagod... rest easy, Jill, Joy... I'll ensure that he never gets close to you two._


	10. Chapter 10

**_So, we've got some more mature content at the end of this chapter...just a fair warning to you guys._**

**_

* * *

_**

_**5 Years Later – Chapter Ten…**_

The next morning was nice and quiet at the harbor.

Lin was off with other duties at the moment, so the shift was left to Flamenco alone, and he was just fine with that. All the troubles were happening inside the island, and not around its shores or harbor, so that gave Flamenco some time to relax a little more without being pestered by the spider companion he seemed to spontaneously gain 5 years ago. Not that he didn't like Lin; they were fairly good friends.

But again, Lin wasn't exactly his type. He would likely look for the types like that Sonia Heartbreaker and whatnot; course, rumor told that now she was interested in Wiper. He was still a ladies man...and of course, he had to give up the constant drinking for this job, but every now and then he enjoyed a tall glass of wine; like right now for instance. He was kicked back in the chair he sat on the deck of the harbor, sipping from a wine glass.

That King and his group...and all their silly drama. Flamenco wasn't apathetic, but he didn't want to be dragged into the depressing matters they all had to deal with. Then he would be depressed like the rest of them. He was in a good mood a good deal of the time, and he didn't want the matters going on to spoil it for him.

After taking another sip from his wine glass, he suddenly spied something on the distant waters. Trying to examine it with the naked eye didn't work so well, so he brought out the telescope to see. It helped, but what he saw threw him off a bit.

He thought he saw what looked like a pirate ship.

He wasn't sure whether to be alarmed or confused; truthfully he was a little of both.

Surprisingly enough, it was pretty quick coming into the harbor too, and Flamenco stood up with his hand on the hilt of his rapier, just in case. Pirates were...unusual in this day and age... but if they were coming to pillage the island-

"Ahoy, Senor Toucan!"

A friendly voice like that put Flamenco at ease, but he was still a little confused. Standing on the deck of the pirate ship were some boys; one a teenage black bear, another a teenage cream-colored lion with a short black mane, and...actually, the last one was a bit of a young adult but he too was a lion with a long red mane wound in a pony tail. There was no doubt that he recognized them, and he smiled.

"Okay, that's good Captain Whisker!" Milo called out to the back of the ship. "We've docked the harbor and we're safe to disembark!"

"Yaaar, then let`s nay waste time!" a robotic, yet strangely jolly voice laughed, as Captain Whisker let go of the steering wheel. For the past five years, one could see signs of age on the ancient robot; however, several parts of his body looked new, as if he had been rebuilt a few places. "All men, prepare fer landin'!"

"Aye, Captain!" Jack laughed, as he stretched out, before quickly leaping off the deck, right in front of Flamenco. "Hiya!" he said with a wide grin.

"Ah...senor Jack," Flamenco said, watching as the other boys did exactly the same thing as Jack. "Striker, Milo."

"Hey Flamenco! Been awhile, hasn't it?" Striker said cheerfully.

"I see you're in good spirits," Milo mentioned, having observed the wine glass in Flamenco's hand. "Special occasion?"

"It is an occasion, Si," Flamenco answered. "But special? No. Just a once in a while thing is all, amigo..."

"Is it because Lin's taking a break?" Jack hummed, tilting his head.

"'t wouldna be that surprisin', really..." Whisker mused, as he stepped onto land as well, after fastening the ship.

"Not break, no," Flamenco said. "Lately, things have grown hectic..."

Striker and Milo exchanged looks of interest. "Then shouldn't you be helping out as well?" Striker questioned, looking back at Flamenco.

"There has to be someone on guard," Flamenco reasoned.

"True."

"What kind of things have been going on, Flamenco?" Milo asked.

"I am not the best person to ask that," Flamenco answered. "My advice, would be to see if you could find King or Sage; or any of them."

"...well, we haven't talked with them in a while..." Jack hummed, before he looked back at Striker, Milo and Whisker. "You guys think we can see Ani, too?" he said excitedly.

"Yeah, we need to do that!" Striker agreed.

Milo tapped his chin. "Wonder how much she changed. We haven't seen her since they started making this island into Safe Haven."

"Well we can't just stand around guys; let's go!" Stiker said, taking off in a run.

"Hey! Wait up Striker!" Milo called out, running after him. "Don't forgot, we originally came here to look for Snap!"

"I know that!"

"Oh, man, this is gonna be awesome!" Jack laughed, as he ran after the two. "Come on, Whisker!"

"Aye, I be comin'!" Whisker called, as he began running after the group, though he quickly gave Flamenco a nod first. "Give Marylin me regards!" he said, before running off.

Flamenco took his seat again, looking up at the ship parked at the dock. _"Magnifico..."_ he murmured to himself, raising a toast to it.

Eventually the other three caught up with Striker, and they slowed to a leisure stroll as they traversed through various parts of the island toward where they hoped their destination was. They managed to find a town, sort of what they were looking for.

Unfortunately, there was a certain group of four solders standing around, and the minute they all saw the other group of four approaching, they halted them.

"Hang on now, we never saw the likes of you before," a zebra said.

"Yeah, we just got here," Striker said. "We're looking for King or Sage. Have you seen 'em?"

"...I don't think we have, no." a ferret muttered, simply glaring at the four of them. "Besides, he's too busy working on some issues that have been going on lately..."

"Ahoy, we`re old friends o' them!" Whisker protested. "An' we`d like t' find ou' jus' what be goin' on around here, too!"

"...well, now..." a jackal among the group hummed, as he observed Whisker. "...this one looks rather old. Where'd you find this piece of scrap?"

"Hey, don't insult Captain Whisker like that!" Jack said, as he glared at the jackal. "He's our Captain, you know!"

"He might be old, but he's reliable," Striker retorted. "And he'll give you a what for if you aren't careful."

"Riiiiiight..." the mole-rat murmured.

Milo didn't like this bunch already. They seemed like a careless group of trouble-makers to him. "Please just tell us what's going on," he said.

"If you ain't a Safe Haven soldier, then you pipsqueaks can beat it," the zebra replied rudely. "Whatever's going on here is none of your business."

"...but we're friends of King and the others!" Jack protested, glaring at the group. "Just tell us where we can-"

"We told you to beat it!" the jackal shot in, as he glared at Jack. "...or would you rather we beat you kids up?"

"Beat us up?" Striker whipped out his aluminum bat, tapping it in his hand with a smirk. "Is that a challenge I heard?"

"Striker, we don't want to make any trouble," Milo said nervously, which made the gang of soldiers laugh.

"Awwww! He's so cute when he thinks he can fight us!" mocked the mole-rat with a snort.

"...nah." Jack said with a mild shrug. "Don't bother, Striker; I can take out all of them on my own."

"...what?" Now, the ferret looked like he was about to burst out laughing. "Man, this kid really thinks he can take us all?"

...well, we`re nay payin' th' hospital bills." Whisker noted dryly, before he glanced at Striker and Milo. "Come on, ye two; let them witness th' strength o' th' Clubhouse Pirates` first mate."

"...you're serious?" the jackal scoffed, before shaking his head. "Man, this kid must've been dropped when he was a baby..."

"Well guess what? We're gonna make _you_ drop," Striker snickered. "Let 'em have it Jack."

"...kkh... arrogant punks..." Snarling, the jackal nodded to his comrades, before pointing at Jack. "...everyone, rush him at once!"

As the four backed up to bum-rush Jack, the lion smiled. He took out his trusted harmonica, fiddling with it just a bit. Milo sighed, while Striker happily handed him a pair of earplugs for the two to insert in their ears.

"CHARGE!" the jackal yelled, as all four of them rushed right at Jack.

The lion merely chuckled, as he put the instrument to his lips, playing a merry, quick tune. However, what came out of the harmonica wasn't just music, but massive shock-waves that tore through the air, forcefully knocking back all four of the soldiers at once.

The soldiers cursed up a storm in the pain of their hearing, and Striker snickered while Milo shook his head.

That harmonica was so loud, in fact, that it may have been heard for miles out. Sleeping heads around the island perked up at its sound, curiously wondering what it was.

After a while, Jack eventually stopped playing, as he looked at the downed soldiers with a huge grin. "Well? Did I do good?" he asked.

"Kkh..." Gritting his teeth, the jackal held his head with a scowl. "...can't... hear... a thing..."

"What'chu say?" yelled the zebra in response.

"OW! Don't yell you dingbat!" complained the mole-rat.

Striker and Milo pulled out their earplugs. "I'd give that a 10 outta 10, Jack," Striker said, applauding him.

"Really?" Jack mused, as he looked back at the two with a grin. "Sheesh... that's awesome!"

"Aha, there you are. I knew I recognized that harmonica."

The boys looked in the direction that new voice came from, and they all beamed brightly. "CAPTAIN CHARMY!" they all bellowed excitedly, rushing up to the old bee with a group hug.

Charmy laughed. "You boys haven't changed a bit!"

"It certainly doesn't show." At that point, the group all saw Newt and Natal head for them, both of them smiling at the sight of the four. "...good to see you again." Natal said.

"Well, now; this be a surprise!" Whisker laughed, as he looked at the two.

"You're tellin' us!" Newt laughed, as he looked at the boys. "Man, you've grown!"

"Newt! Natal!" Milo exclaimed.

"If they're here, that means Wiper's here too!" Striker added.

"Yeah, but he's off doing stuff," Another voice chimed in, while a certain kangaroo hopped to them.

"RUDY!" and the boys tackled him down in a giant dog pile, with all of them laughing.

"Aw man! It's so great to see you guys again!" Rudy laughed.

"Same to you Rudy!" Striker laughed with him.

Charmy smiled brightly. "Yes, it really is very nice to see you all again. You too Whisker," and he regarded a nod to the robot pirate.

"`Tis nice t' be seein' ye all again, too!" Whisker laughed, as he folded his arms.

"But man... why're all of you on the island, too?" Jack asked, as he looked at the group with a curious smile.

"Duty calls," Charmy said. "GUN sent us here to keep an eye out for troublemakers, and over the last few days we've actually had our hands full with quite a of things."

"What sort of stuff, Captain Charmy?" Striker asked.

Rudy squeezed out of the dog pile, actually turning pretty serious. "Some really creepy stuff has been going on, guys," he said. "Not only that, but remember the story the Professor told, when Eggman planted explosives on this island when Shadow was working for him?"

"Yeah, we remember that story," Milo answered.

"There were some that were actually left over," Rudy continued. "They blew up parts of the island yesterday morning."

"...wow..." Striker uttered in astonishment.

"...I guess you guys really did have your hands full," Milo remarked in the same manner.

"...man... I didn't think there'd be leftovers of those things..." Jack muttered, as he rubbed his head. "...do you think things are gonna calm down a bit, now?"

"We dunno." Newt shrugged. "So we're stayin' around to help King and the others get things settled, y'know."

"Oh yeah! You think you could take us to King?" Striker asked.

"Certainly," Charmy said. He finally glanced over at the four soldiers lying on the ground, writhing in the pain of their ruined ear drums. "Looks like we'll have to send some replacements for them to take this post." Then he turned and walked away. "Come along boys."

"Yes sir!" Striker and Milo both answered, doing so immediately.

_Hm...well mannered as well,_ Charmy thought with amusement.

With a nod, Jack and Whisker followed the group as well, with Jack waving to the four soldiers. "See ya!" he laughed.

They all snarled at him.

Charmy took them to a building out away from the town, which was the shelter used for the injured tribal members. Inside, they traveled down stairs and through halls. The boys could see the injured people through each opened doorway.

"Those poor people," Milo murmured in sympathy.

Charmy reached the door he was looking for, and entered through with the others behind him. He brought him into some sort of conference room, and conveniently enough, all the rest of the GUN agents were there; Cal and Boomer, as well as King and the gang. There were Tasha and Sonia there too; Tasha because this involved her people, and Sonia...perhaps because Wiper was here.

"Guess who came to visit?" Charmy chuckled, getting surprised looks from those in the conference room.

"Striker? Milo? Jack?" Hunter uttered in disbelief.

"Whisker too!" Boomer threw in.

"Hi everybody!" Striker said with a greeting smile.

"Hi!" Jack said with a wave to the group.

"...my... what a surprise." Queen mused.

"Kekekekekeke! This is a sight for sore eyes!" Ripper cackled.

"...well, now... friends of yours?" Sonia mused, as she looked at the other agents.

"You can say that again." Leaning against a wall was Wiper, who simply waved at the boys with a small smile.

"Hey Striker, now Queen looks even more like she could be your mom!" Milo laughed.

Striker shot him a sarcastic look. "Ha-ha, you're funny," he said. It seemed to be the running gag among them; Queen secretly being Striker's mom.

"So your names are Striker, Milo, Jack, and Whisker, are they?" Tasha said, walking up to them. "Pleased to meet you. My name is Tasha."

"Nice to meet you too, Tasha," Striker said.

"You guys can call me Sonia." Sonia said with a nod to the group.

"`Tis nice t' meet ye, Sonia!" Whisker laughed.

"...Tails is doing fine, I see." Sage chuckled, simply looking at the group from where she sat.

"Still reading minds..." Jack noted with a small smile. "Well, the Professor needed to look after his workshop and the Clubhouse while we were gone, so he couldn't come with us."

"That's too bad," Charmy remarked. "But I suppose it can't be helped."

The door opened again and Striker curiously turned to see who it was-only to get bumped into by accident. Trays of dishes crashed to the floor, and Striker saw this in embarrassment. "I'm so sorry!" he apologized immediately.

"No, I'm sorry! I should looked where I was-Striker?"

Striker's sea green eyes shot up, and met with a pair of sparkling silvery-blue ones. "...Ani?" He took in the sight of her entirely from head to toe. Ani...looked like an actual girl; even with the cameo pants and boots, she looked like a girl. Taller with a figure; definitely a girl.

Ani was totally shocked to see Striker face to face. The photo didn't do him any justice, and she slowly turned a shade of pink while the two stared at each other.

Charmy's trademark mischievous grin grew on his face while he watched this. Sage, too, smirked. _...I had a feeling that this would happen._ she thought.

Jack, of course, seemed oblivious to what seemed to brew between the two, as he simply looked between Striker and Ani.

"...Uh!" Striker's eyes averted away in embarrassment and he knelt down to pick up the trays; Ani hurriedly doing the same. "I didn't mean to do that Ani," he said.

"It's okay," She chuckled sheepishly. "Accidents happen, right?"

"Here, I'll help," Milo threw in, kneeling down to pick up broken dishes.

"...um... I'll help, too!" Jack called, quickly helping to pick up the dishes as well.

"...still, this is a nice surprise." Miser chimed in with a slight smile. "I'm sure you've heard this by now, but... welcome to Safe Haven."

"Actually, we didn't hear that," Milo said.

"Yeah, the welcome we got was from this jackal guy and his group, telling us to buzz off because we weren't Safe Haven soldiers," Striker added.

"...Will?" Hunter supposed.

"...yep; definitely Will." Sage muttered. "And from the looks of it, Jack sent them flying."

"...kekeke! That must have been what I heard!" Ripper laughed.

"Yep. Knocked all four of them down all by himself," Striker said proudly, holding up a tray full of broken dishes.

"...still holding onto that harmonica..." Queen chuckled.

"Well, I can't exactly throw it away, can I?" Jack laughed, as he took out his harmonica, inspecting it a bit.

"...man, you guys have some interesting friends." Sonia noted, as she glanced at Hunter.

"Oh that's nothing!" Striker said. "We even got to know the famous So-" and the rest was muffled by Milo's hand.

"Not something we should say willy-nilly, Striker," Milo said nervously. Sage easily picked up that Striker was about to mention the famous blue one of super sonic speed. Even though she knew he meant no harm by it, she couldn't help but let out a brief sigh.

"...so..." King uttered, after having been silent for a while. "...what brings you all to Safe Haven?"

"Oh; we're looking for a robot that Striker made!" Jack said with a nod.

"...robot that he..." Miser uttered, tapping her chin, before snapping her fingers. "...ah, you mean Snap!"

"That's right!" Striker said. "So he IS here!"

"Yeah," Boomer said. "And might I say Striker, you did a very good job."

"Thanks!" the bear beamed.

"Where is he?" Milo asked.

Hunter began without thinking about it, "He's with J..." and he stopped on his own accord, as well as Ani shaking her head at her dad.

With the room falling silent, Striker looked around questionably. "What's wrong?"

"...uh, c'mon! I've got a lot to tell you guys!" Ani said, bringing the tray out of the room hurriedly. The boys shared strange looks, and each followed Ani out of the room along with Whisker.

"...hm..." Humming, Wiper shot a glance at Hunter. "...and here I thought that King had problems when it came to speaking without thinking."

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" King protested, looking at Wiper.

"...how do you all suppose they'll react to hearing about it?" Miser muttered, as she glanced at the others.

"All I can say is that I hope they don't take it too hard," Cal murmured.

Hunter's mind suddenly changed to a different subject; one that would lighten the mood "...you all see what I just saw?" Hunter chuckled, looking around at everybody.

"What? ...Oh, Striker and Ani you mean?" Boomer asked.

"Yep."

"Did I ever," Charmy remarked, grinning.

"Well, it is that time of year, I suppose..." Sage chuckled, as she closed her eyes. "...things could get pretty interesting between those two."

* * *

Diablo carefully looked back and forth before he decided to come out of hiding; covering the gash on his face with his hand.

"...there you are... Big Brother..." At that point, Diablo would feel a murderous presence behind him, as someone was walking towards him.

While many would be intimidated by this presence, Diablo not only was used to it, but was at ease with it while he turned to the person walking toward him. "Kiri, I've been looking for you." he murmured.

"...just where have you been, Big Brother?" Kiri uttered, as she looked at the leopard with a disappointed look. One quick glance at her arms revealed that she was holding a bloodied wrench in her hands. "You've been gone for three days... I've been so bored."

"I didn't mean to keep you waiting, Kiri," Diablo said. "I tried to get our friend, the witch out of Jill...but we had some complications with it..."

"...is that right?" Kiri hummed, as she tilted her head. "How did you try to get her out?"

Diablo knelt down to her. "I did to her like I do to all the other soldiers, Kiri," he whispered. "I tortured her. I even let Raider get to play with her."

"...is that right..." Kiri uttered, without looking at Diablo. "...tsch... stupid Big Brother..." she muttered.

"...what's wrong now?" Diablo grumbled.

"...Jill couldn't possibly break under torture, Big Brother." Kiri uttered, as she glared back at the leopard. "Don't you think Callous and Novagod would have tried doing the same thing five years ago?" Then, she shook her head. "...why didn't you just do as I suggested, Big Brother...?"

"...perhaps I really should have listened to your suggestion then," Diablo murmured, finally removing his hand for Kiri to see the gash across his face.

Seeing that, Kiri really didn't seem to mind the gash. "...maybe you should have." she muttered, turning away from Diablo. "While you were gone, I spent some of my time spying on Metal and Joy... little Joy missed her mother, but Metal told her that she had simply gone somewhere... those three share a bond." Then, she glanced at Diablo from over her shoulder. "...if we cut the bond... then Callous will play with me... Diablo."

Diablo grumbled again. It was going to be hard work getting them out in the open away from watchful eyes now...

With a mild huff, Kiri began walking off, twirling her wrench around. "Come on; I bound and gagged a few soldiers who were injured by the explosion. I played a lot with their knees and elbows..." she giggled.

Diablo put his hand back on the gash and went off with her, trying to think of a plan.

* * *

"Jill's HERE?"

Ani winced when they shouted like that, and looked at all of their shocked faces with a little guilt. "...yeah...she's been here for 3 years," she finished.

"...how come nobody told us?" Striker asked in disbelief.

Ani looked away from them uneasily. "...she didn't want anybody else to know that she was here. Charmy, Wiper and the others didn't even know about Jill until they came here about a week ago." She looked back at them sadly; ears back. "Things were complicated for her, and she wasn't sure if she was comfortable with seeing everyone again. You guys know how hard she took Brick's death..."

"...right," Milo murmured, not exactly wanting to be reminded of that.

"...but..." Jack began, rubbing the back of his head. "...she's... alright, at least?" he asked.

"Yeah...and that's not it either," Ani continued. "Jill had the child too. Sweet little girl named Joy..."

"...wow..." Striker uttered in awe. "...Jill's...really a mom?"

"Yeah, at first it was hard for me to believe too," Ani said, rubbing the back of her neck. "Jill brought Joy with her here when she was just a small baby."

"...so she`s got a three-year old lass wi' th' 'er, now..." Whisker hummed.

"So they're doing alright?" Jack hummed. "That's good to know..."

"...um, you said that Snap was with them?" Striker asked.

Ani nodded. "Yes. Metal and Tails Doll are with them too."

Striker tried to smile a little. "...well, it's nice to know that Metal finally found Jill."

Ani tilted her head. "Was he looking for her?"

Striker looked away from Ani, somehow uncomfortable that moment with direct eye contact. "Oh, he didn't really say anything...we just figured...you know."

"Do you think we'd be able to see them, Ani?" Milo asked.

"Yeah, probably," Ani said. "...there's also one more thing you guys aught to know."

"What?"

"It was pretty recent; like, yesterday when this happened, so some of us are still getting used to it," Ani said, "but...Jill somehow got her voice back." The boys stared at her silently in more awe. "I don't know how she got it back, but she did..."

"...she... got it back?" Jack uttered in absolute awe, as one could see him rapidly growing excited at the thought.

"...here we go..." Whisker muttered, stepping a bit away from Jack.

"...YA-HOO!" Jack cheered, as he pumped his fist in the air. "She actually got it back! I knew that stupid vampire couldn't hold it from her forever!"

Ani and Milo winced, while Striker just laughed. "...well, anyway," Ani murmured. "C'mon. I'll take you guys to their room."

Jill was just waking up around this time. Upon opening her eyes, she noticed immediately that there was a 3 year old missing in her arms. Sitting up, she saw to her relief that Joy was on the ground with some paper and crayons, coloring.

_"...she's been up for a little while, now; some loud noise woke her up."_ Tails Doll hummed, as he was sitting right above Jill's head. _"...but it didn't wake up Big Bro." _he added, motioning to the other bed, where Metal was still fast asleep.

Jill smiled when she looked at Metal sound asleep. Then she turned her attention to Joy, who was coloring still without noticing that her mother was awake. Snap noticed though. "Hey Joy, look who's awake," he said, getting Joy to look in that direction.

Joy smiled and went up to Jill. "Mornin' Mama!" she said. crawling in to give Jill a hug.

"...good morning Joy," it still felt so unreal that Jill was talking to her own daughter.

Seeing that, Tails Doll simply tilted his head, as he fluttered over to Snap, just looking at the two.

"Were you drawing pictures?" Jill asked, and Joy nodded.

"M-hm! I drew one for you Mama! To make you feel better!" Joy said. "Wanna see?"

"Sure," Jill said, smiling. Joy hopped off the bed and went to her pile of papers, fishing out one and returning to Jill. Jill looked upon a picture of three stick figures of color. Two of them were brown, while the third one was blue. All three of them were holding hands, it seemed.

"That's you and me Mama," Joy said, pointing to the brown stick figures. "And that blue one is Metoh!"

Hearing that, Tails Doll glanced over at Metal. _...she drew all three of them... _he thought, before looking back at Jill and Joy.

Jill smiled. She felt something she couldn't explain...but while looking at this picture, she really felt strange. It was almost as if Joy thought of Metal as...part of the family. She glanced over at the sleeping hedgehog in sad wondering. All of what happened yesterday...had she really have been ready to move on like that? Move on from Brick?

"...Mama, what's wrong?" Joy asked worriedly.

Jill shook her head and smiled down at Joy. "Nothing's wrong. I like your picture you drew, thank you," then she chuckled. "But you might be forgetting some other people."

"Like who?" Joy asked curiously.

"I think you forgot to put Tails Doll in there too."

"Oh yeah!" Joy swiped the picture and returned to her pile of crayons on the ground, working on adding Tails Doll in.

Jill giggled. Watching Joy quickly add him to the drawing, Tails Doll couldn't help but giggle as well.

Then there was a knock on the door. Somehow, the knocking did more than just alert the others in the room to someone outside, as Metal finally woke up, sitting up from where he had been lying. "...mhrm... morning, already...?" he uttered, rubbing his head.

The door opened, and Ani poked her head in. "Oh good, you guys are awake..."

_"...what is it Ani?"_ Snap asked.

"...you guys have visitors," she said. They all looked at her in wondering, and Ani peered behind her. "...you guys can come in." When Jill saw who walked in, she held her breath in surprise, staring at the visitors wide-eyed.

"...Jill..." Milo reacted the same way as she did, and so did Striker; staring at her.

However, the only one of the visitors who didn't just stare was Jack, who actually smiled. "...man... it's been a really long time..." he uttered, looking at Jill.

"...you guys..." Metal uttered, looking at the four in surprise.

Snap looked back and forth between everyone. _"...hello Striker,"_ he said.

"Oh, Snap, there you are," Striker said, giving him a glance before he looked back at Jill.

After working through some of her shock, Jill finally managed to smile. "...it's nice to see you guys again."

"She really DOES have her voice back!" Striker yelped.

"YES! That's awesome!" Jack laughed. "Congrats, Jill!"

"Now thar`s somethin' I haven`t heard in ages!" Whisker noted, folding his arms.

"...huh?" Milo felt someone bump his leg, and he looked down. All of them looked.

"Hi! My name is Joy and I'm 3 years old!" Joy said cheerfully, standing by Milo's feet. The boys all looked at her in awe, just trying to believe the fact that Jill really was a mom... At some point, Striker finally knelt down by her.

"...hi Joy," Striker said, smiling. "My name's-"

"Strikoh!" Joy blurted, surprising Striker.

"...How'd you know my name?"

"Smap showed me a picture of you!" Joy said, pointing to the said robot sitting in the corner of the room.

Milo smiled. "My name's Milo, Joy," he said.

"My name's Jack!" Jack said with a smile too, before motioning towards Whisker. "That's Captain Whisker!"

"Aye, 'tis a pleasure t' meet ye!" Whisker said with a brief bow to the little girl.

"Capt'n Whiskoh!" Joy took an interest to the towering pirate robot, bowing back with a few giggles.

"...Wow Jill," Striker uttered breathlessly. "...she looks just like you."

"...I get that a lot," Jill answered bashfully.

"...for good reason." Jack mused, as he looked down at Joy. "...man, she's so cute!"

_"I know!"_ Tails Doll chimed in, fluttering onto Jack's head.

Ani smiled. They way everybody got along was so nostalgic, it was heart warming. "...guess the whole gang's here again," she murmured, chuckling.

"...where's the Professor?" Jill asked curiously.

"He had to stay behind," Milo answered. "Not only did he have to look after his shop and the Clubhouse...but travel's kinda hard on him, you know. He doesn't have very much energy because of his age."

"Nothing like Captain Charmy, that's for sure," Striker joked. "I swear, he's got enough energy to power up an entire city!" Ani laughed at what he said, which made Striker blush a little bit. Noticing that, Tails Doll tilted his head, before glancing at Jack and Whisker, neither of them having noticed it.

"Oh, Metal...I didn't notice you there," Milo said, directing the other boys' attention to the hedgehog. "How've you been?"

Glancing at the boys, Metal regarded a nod to them. "...I've been good. Thank you for asking." he said.

Jill let out a weary sigh, and lay back down on her bed. Even just sitting up was wearing her down...after all, she still felt a little achy all over from yesterday.

"What's wrong?" Striker asked.

"...Jill's had a rough time recently," Ani answered. "She's just tired is all..."

"And I drew pictures to make her feel better!" Joy chimed in. "Wanna see them?"

"Sure," Milo said, allowing Joy to take him by the hand and bring him over to her little area on the floor where her pictures and crayons were.

"Come on, Striker, Whisker! We need to see them as well!" Jack said with a smile, as he followed Joy and Milo to that area.

Seeing that, Metal couldn't help but chuckle, before he glanced towards Jill. Jill smiled back at Metal, and then looked at the boys sitting around the floor while looking at all of the drawings.

"Hey! There's a picture of you here, Ani!" Striker said, holding up one of them.

"Aw, how sweet of you Joy," Ani cooed.

"Man, there's a lot of drawings here!" Jack commented, as he looked at Joy. "You made all of these yourself?" he said in an genuinely impressed tone.

"Yep!" Joy said proudly.

Milo picked up one of her pictures, and stared at it long and hard. "...Joy...what's this drawing of?" he asked; a strange sense of uneasiness in his voice.

Joy peeked over his shoulder. "That's Mama. She's fighting a big, bad monster."

Everyone stopped short when they heard that.

"...a big, bad monster?" Striker uttered.

"M-hm!"

"...ye dasn't say..." Whisker uttered, as he looked down at the drawing.

"...is it just any big bad monster...?" Jack inquired, looking at the drawing as well.

"Nuh-uh...it's a extra bad monster," Joy replied to Jack.

"...Jill, I think you need to see this," And Milo stood up, bringing Jill the paper. When Jill looked it over, she realized what Milo was uneasy about, and she grew nervous too.

The drawing consisted of a big black splotch on one side of the paper, with teeth and wings; something that looked very familiar to something she remembered...5 years ago.

On the other side, there was a stick figure drawn with yellow crayon. This stick figure had a pale wing, and a black wing, and it was holding a long golden stick pointed at the black splotch. Jill knew very well what that was. She swore it looked like...what happened 5 years ago. That yellow stick figure...it was her. That golden stick was her blade...those wings...

It was her in her Unity form...the night of that final battle. That black splotch was that black dragon...

"...Joy..." Jill uttered. "...how come you drew this?"

"I had a dream about it..." Joy replied.

Jill stared at her daughter in disbelief, and Milo passed the drawing to Metal. He blinked while he looked at the drawing in disbelief as well. "...a dream about..." he uttered, holding a hand to his head. "...when... did you have this dream?"

Joy shuffled her feet. "...member when Mama wasn't here, and I woke you up because I had a bad dream, Metoh?" she said. "That was the dream...afore I wakey, the big bad monster swallowed Mama...so..."

"...I... see..." Metal nodded, before he closed his eyes. _...it swallowed Jill... _he thought; just hearing that reminded him of when he and Jill had entered the Corruption Dragon themselves, to finally put a stop to Novagod...

_...but... why would she dream of that...?_ he thought, looking back at Joy.

"...Am I in trouble?" Joy asked uneasily.

"...no, you aren't in trouble," Jill reassured.

Ani could feel the tension in the room. "Hey Joy," she said. "Why don't you come with me and we'll get breakfast, hm? Maybe we could even take some back to your mom."

Joy nodded. "Mkay." Ani took her hand and the two of them left out the door, closing it behind them.

Jill shuddered a little. "...how can she see these things?" she muttered.

"...she certainly is a peculiar one..." Metal muttered, as he closed his eyes. _...I wonder... is Novagod planning something regarding her...?_

Milo looked at Jill solemnly. "You're worried about her finding out what happened long ago, aren't you?" he asked.

Jill nodded; the only response she could offer.

"...I wouldn't blame you," Striker said, looking back at the door. "The things that happened could give anybody nightmares."

"...we'll have to keep quiet about this..." Metal muttered, without looking at the others. "...it would... probably be for the better..."

"...right," Milo murmured. Then there was a loud growl, and all of them looked at Striker.

Striker rubbed his stomach sheepishly. "You know, breakfast sounds pretty good right now," he chuckled. "Maybe I'll go catch up with Ani and see if I can't get anything to eat," and with that, he was out the door.

"Striker, wait!" Milo quickly looked at Jill. "We'll come back in a bit. It was really good seeing you Jill," then he, too, took off out the door. "Striker, wait up!"

"Hang on; I'm kinda hungry, too!" Jack called, running after Striker and Milo.

"...well... at least some things dasn't change..." Whisker noted, before chuckling.

Jill looked at Whisker. "Did you guys say the Clubhouse was still there?"

"Hn?" Blinking, Whisker looked at Jill, before nodding. "Aye, th' Clubhouse be still around." he nodded. "We`ve been takin' good care o' 't; tho, Striker tends t' spend more time at th' Professor`s workshop. He`s become his apprentice, in a way..."

Jill smiled, and closed her eyes while she imagined that. _...just like Brick,_ she thought, remembering the Extreme Gear he built for her with Tails' help. And now, Striker built a robot like Snap. Thinking back to the Clubhouse, she wondered if her old room was still there. "Lots of memories in that Clubhouse," she murmured.

Hearing that, Metal glanced at Jill. _...does she... intend to return there, one day...?_ he thought, though he kept his thoughts to himself.

_"If you don't mind Jill,"_ Snap said. _"I'd like to join Striker and the others. I only just met them before I came with Metal here, and Striker created me after all, so..."_

"Oh, yes, by all means go ahead," Jill said, nodding. That was enough for Snap to leave out the door as well.

"...well, I might as well go along wi' them; a captain canna let his men outta sight fer too long!" Whisker said, leaving.

_"Ah- wait up! I gotta find out what Striker's been doing the past week!" _Tails Doll called, as he fluttered out after the pirate robot.

That left Metal and Jill alone in the room.

With her head on the pillow, she looked up at the ceiling thoughtfully.

Glancing at Jill again, Metal hummed. "...what are you thinking of?" he inquired.

"It was just a few years ago," Jill said, her eyes still to the ceiling. "...but it felt like forever since I saw them last." She closed her eyes. "...they've grown."

"...time is an unpredictable mistress." Metal mused, before he looked up at the ceiling as well. "You can never foresee what it has in store for the world..."

Jill finally looked over at Metal after he said that. "...you could say that again."

Glancing back at Jill, Metal couldn't help but smile.

Jill smiled back.

Then she sat up from her bed, wondering if she was strong enough to stand yet. With a hand on the wall for support, she brought her legs over and slowly tried to stand. Noticing that, Metal stood up from his bed, waiting to see if Jill would be able to stand on her own. At first she made it to a stand, and her first step was good. The second one made her leg collapse under the weight and she was on her knees on the ground. She could feel the very joints in her legs ache. "Ow..." she murmured under her breath.

With a slightly worried look, Metal gently took hold of Jill, trying to help her stand up. "...still difficult to stand?" he hummed.

"A little," Jill answered. "...I don't know what was done to me, but it was harsh."

"...yeah..." Metal nodded, as he briefly closed his eyes. "...but that's over, now. You're safe." he eventually said.

Jill gently rested her head on his chest, still feeling a little tired. "Yeah..."

Glancing at Jill, Metal let out a brief sigh, before looking at the floor. "...Jill... about what you whispered yesterday..." he began, in a slightly uneasy tone.

"Oh..." Jill shared the same uneasiness at Metal. "...if...I made you uncomfortable..."

"...well... that's not the issue..." Metal muttered, as he closed his eyes. "...it's just that... we would have to find someplace private, first..."

Jill was silent for a minute. He was actually thinking about going through with it? Or...maybe he meant just a more private place to talk it out? "Well..." she tried to think of a place that would suit, and no place too far from here. Almost no place was private around Safe Haven.

"...what about the shop?" Metal eventually suggested. "We could think of some manner of excuse... so we wouldn't have anyone following us..."

Her shop? "...alright," she murmured.

Hearing that, Metal nodded. "...just tell me when you feel ready," he murmured.

Jill...didn't want to rush things, and there were other things she thought about that concerned her; like Joy, for instance. "...if...the boys want to watch Joy...then maybe..." she was having trouble finishing what she was saying.

"...maybe..." Metal uttered, as if he had the same thought, along with the difficulty regarding finishing the thought.

"...we could...check with them," Jill said.

"...maybe we should." Metal nodded. "...should we do it now, or later...?"

Jill honestly wasn't sure. "...they said they would be back after breakfast," she said. "...let's wait for them."

"...let's." Metal nodded, as he looked at Jill. "...do you need help in getting back to bed?" he inquired.

"...I suppose I do," Jill answered. "...thanks."

* * *

"Ani... these are the BEST PANCAKES EVER!" Striker sure was a fan of overreaction, as well as the pancakes he was wolfing down.

Joy was entertained by him, and she giggled after she took a bite out of her own pancakes. "M-hm! Very yummy!"

Jack didn't even manage to say anything intelligible, as he was wolfing down on his pancakes as well; one could obviously tell, however, that he greatly enjoyed them.

"Too bad that I can't eat, but if I could, I`d probably like them pancakes as well!" Whisker laughed, as he, Snap and Tails Doll watched the group eat their breakfast.

Milo was the only one who was eating in a civil way, but there was definitely a look of great appreciation on him showing that he liked the food as much as his other two crew mates did. Ani smiled as she watched them all eat. It was gratifying to see so many enjoy her cooking.

"So, what are you guys thinking of doing today?" Ani asked them, at a time when their mouths weren't stuffed with pancake.

"I dunno; maybe we can explore the island!" Striker said, immediately shoving another mouthful in afterward.

_"...I don't know about that, Striker,"_ Snap said. _"With everything that's been going on here, it may not be a good idea to wander aimlessly around the island."_

Ani smiled. "Actually Snap, you'd be surprised what we can handle! If you guys wanna explore the island, count me in!"

"That's the Ani we know!" Striker whooped proudly, making her blush.

"Alright! Now we can go on an adventure!" Jack laughed. "Where should we go, first?"

"Maybe we can explore the places where Sonic and Shadow battled!" Striker said. "I bet there are still some battlescars on the trees and stuff from that!"

"...Sonic and Shadoh?" Joy asked curiously. "Who are they?"

They all looked at her. "...you never heard of Sonic the Hedgehog? Or even Shadow for that matter?" Striker questioned in disbelief.

Ani shrugged. "...I guess Sage never really told her any of those stories."

"...hey..." Humming, Jack rubbed his chin. "...do you guys think that later on, we could tell her some of the stories the Professor told us?"

"I think we should," Milo said, smiling. "She'd really enjoy them."

"Maybe we could even show her the pirate ship!" Striker added.

Joy's eyes lit up like magic. "A piwate ship?"

"Yeah!" Striker said. "Did you know that Captain Whisker is a real pirate, Joy?"

"Wow! Really?" Joy asked excitedly, turning to Whisker.

"That`s right!" Whisker laughed. "Captain o' two crews; one lost t' time, an' th' other... well, ye`re lookin' at them right now!" he said, motioning to Jack, Striker and Milo.

Joy beamed brightly when Whisker pointed out that they were all pirates; at least to her eyes. "Can I be a piwate too?"

"Definitely!" Striker said to her. "You can be an honorary member of the Clubhouse Pirates!"

All this business about pirates really intrigued Snap. The definition he remembered was that pirates were crooks and thieves; not something to be admired. Why would they all be so happy about being pirates?

"I guess we'll have to check with Jill and see if it's alright with her," Milo said.

"After we're done eating, we can go ask," Ani said. Then she chuckled, "then again, I think you guys finished eating long ago."

"Actually, I was hoping for some seconds," Striker said. "May I?"

Ani grinned. "I'd be insulted if you didn't!" And she returned Striker with another plate of hotcakes.

"WOOPIE!" and he dug in once more.

"Ooh, seconds!" Jack uttered in awe, looking at Ani with an eager smile. "Me too, me too!"

"Here ya go," Ani said, placing more pancakes on his plate for him as well. Then she turned her head to Milo, "How about you?"

"I'm good, thank you," Milo replied.

"Spoilsport," Ani teased, and Milo just shrugged it off.

Boy, she missed these guys.

As Jack began eating the pancakes he had been served, Tails Doll fluttered by Ani's side, looking at them.

After they finished eating, which only took a matter of seconds for the two of them, they all marched right back down to the room where Metal and Jill were. Asking them to take Joy on their little adventure was no problem; it even surprised Metal and Jill that they came and asked first, rather than the other way around. Anyhow, that gave permission for the group to venture off out of the building. Joy got a place to sit on Whisker's shoulder, while Tails Doll sat on the other one, both of them enjoying the ride. Ani and Snap accompanied too; Ani had to at least make sure that her help wasn't needed with tending to Tasha's injured people. Luckily, she was spared for the day.

First their destination was the harbor, and when they closed in on the docks, Joy looked up in awe at the pirate ship parked there. "Whoa!"

"Did you guys really build that thing?" Ani asked in amazement.

"Yep!" Striker admitted proudly. "All of us pitched in; even the Professor helped out!"

"So it's a massive team effort!" Jack laughed.

"It's really cool, isn't it, Joy?" Tails Doll said, as he glanced at the little ewe.

"Uh-huh! I like it lots!" Joy said, clapping her hands.

"Just wait till you see the inside of it Joy!" Striker said, just as they reached the docks.

"I was wonderin' whose ship it was!" they heard a female voice say, as someone approached them from behind.

Blinking, Jack glanced behind him, smiling when he saw who it was. "Hi, Lin!"

"Heya!" Lin called with a smirk, walking towards the group. "How's it going?"

"We're doing great!" Striker said. "We got to see Jill, and we met Joy here too!"

"Hi Lin!" Joy greeted from Whisker's shoulder with a cute little wave.

"We're letting her get a look at the pirate ship," Milo added, chuckling.

"Really? That's great!" Lin cheered. "Wish I could join you; but right now, it's my shift, so I gotta keep an eye on the horizon..."

"Come on; it probably won't take that long!" Jack said with a smile. "I'm sure Flamenco won't mind, either."

"We can all play piwate!" Joy giggled; which confused Snap even more with what she said.

Milo's eyes were drawn elsewhere. He felt something...disturbing close by. Not only that, but he felt like they were being watched.

Striker happened to notice Milo looking off with a strange look on his face. "What's up Milo?" he asked curiously.

"Oh nothing; just looking around," Milo said quite non-nonchalantly, but in truth, he was secretly concerned about this disturbance he sensed nearby.

"...well, if you say so..." Jack hummed, as he glanced at Milo.

"...maybe we could ask Flammy if I could come and check the ship with you guys!" Lin said in a giddy tone, looking at the group.

"Let's do that!" Striker said, equally as giddy.

* * *

"...it looks better than I remembered it." Jill and Metal were now standing on the street looking at the malt shop that burned down only 4 days ago. Now it didn't even look like it had been burned down anymore...it didn't look brand new, but there wasn't much evidence on it that it burned down.

"...well, some of us put some extra effort into making it look better after the first day you went missing." Metal noted, as he glanced at Jill. "...care to see it from the inside?"

Jill nodded. "...sure."

Nodding back, Metal led Jill into the shop, making sure to not strain her too much.

Once inside, Jill took a look around.

It certainly didn't show that the shop had even caught fire to begin with. The shop seemed, for the most part, as Jill had remembered it, though some objects like the cash register looked more sleek than they had been before; likely recreated via useage of Metal's power. Truly, the shop had been restored.

Jill didn't know what to say, but she smiled. "...you did so much..."

"...it was the least we could do..." Metal hummed, as he noticed Jill's smile. Seeing it, he smiled as well.

"...what about my apartment?" she asked curiously.

"...well, it was relatively unharmed from the fire..." Metal began, as he glanced at the stairs. "...but some of us thought that we could clean up there while others were looking for you, just for good measure."

"...could I see?" she asked again, albeit a bit quietly.

"...sure." Metal nodded, as he helped Jill up the stairs.

When they walked into the apartment upstairs, Jill saw that what Metal said was true. Nothing was really done to her apartment, but she noticed that everything was scrubbed, and arranged more neatly then they were the morning she left. It looked like a new home that hadn't been given to a family yet.

While looking around, her mind fell back on what the two of them had been through years ago, for some reason. The fight over the Chaos Emeralds...the training to beat Callous and Johnny...the sacrifice she made... sometimes she still found it hard to believe that she was dead, and brought back to life.

And their separation...

"...I...really did want to go back to Metropolis...to find you, Metal," she suddenly spoke softly.

Metal blinked, as he glanced at Jill. "...really?" he uttered.

Jill nodded. "...I guess when things started happening to me...I started growing more and more afraid of what I'd find there...to find what Deity did to you..." She felt like she was reciting one of her diary entries she remember reading recently. "I barely healed from Brick's death...but if anything had happened to you..."

Simply looking at Jill, Metal was silent whilst looking at her.

"...I don't know what I would've done," she muttered.

"...don't worry about that, Jill." Metal eventually said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "...we're not separated anymore."

Jill placed her hand on his hand on her shoulder, closing her eyes. "...yeah. You're right."

Nodding, Metal simply smiled.

Jill reopened her eyes and looked up at Metal again.

"...Jill..." Metal eventually uttered, without looking away from her.

Jill couldn't look away either. Gradually her hand rose, and placed on his chest. "...I can feel your heart..."

Metal blinked, as he slowly placed a hand on Jill's hand. "...my... heart..." he uttered.

Jill's own heart picked up the pace. "...long ago, even before you became an organic..." she mumbled. "...I still thought that you had one...all along..."

"...you... really did..." Metal uttered, before he eventually closed his eyes.

That was the strangest thing of all. Jill still felt this way about him, despite knowing that he was once a robot created by Dr. Eggman. It was...amazing, to say the least. She slowly wrapped her arms around him then, holding him close. As she did that, Metal eventually did the same, slowly wrapping his arms around Jill.

They stayed like that for awhile, and then Jill looked up at him, without letting him go. Metal, too, looked down at Jill without letting go of her. A moment passed again, and then Jill slowly drew closer to him. Again, she didn't want to rush this. This time, Metal began slowly drawing closer to her as well, feeling the beat of his heart grow more rapid.

Their lips met finally, while Jill still kept it slow. Metal kept it slow as well, though he did slowly move his hand to the back of Jill's head, gently holding it. Jill wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer and beginning to kiss a little more deeply. As she did that, Metal began cautiously stroking her left arm, slightly deepening the kiss as well. That ignited the warm flame inside Jill again, and she stroked the quills on his head as they continued to kiss. As she did that, Metal also began caressing Jill's neck. That built up the warm flame inside Jill, with goosebumps prickling all over and her hands trailed across the skin on his chest again. Metal quivered as she did that, slowly caressing Jill's arms, a bit hesitant to move his hands closer to her chest. Jill's breath started to quicken slightly in excitement, gently stroking Metal's thigh with a finger. As she did that, Metal began growing more excited as well; a feeling he actually found pleasing. In response, he moved his left hand downward, returning the favor by stroking Jill's own thigh. The warm flame in Jill grew warmer, and Jill uttered out a tiny moan as her tongue pushed in to dance with Metal's. As they kept kissing, eventually, Metal moved his right hand slowly towards Jill's chest; like her, he didn't wish to rush things. The closer his hand got to her chest, the more excited she got, uttering out another soft moan as they kissed. After a short while, Metal slowly and gently took hold of one of Jill's breasts, whilst deepening the kiss. Jill was a little surprised that Metal did that, but she moaned again at the feel of his hands groping her.

Without pulling away from the kissing, Jill cautiously started pulling the two of them down the hall, toward her room. Metal simply allowed Jill to pull the two of them away, without pulling away. They made it to the door and entered inside, with Jill closing it behind them. Now that they were in her room, she wrapped her arms around Metal again, pressing her body closer to his. As she did that, Metal wrapped his arms around her as well, pressing his own body closer to hers. The flame in Jill grew hotter, and she started kissing Metal more passionately. While he knew that he was less experienced than her, Metal didn't want to fall behind, as he began kissing Jill more passionately as well.

Jill was still a little afraid to keep going, but she was a little more confident this time than last time.

So she slowly reached behind herself, and took the zipper to her top, pulling it open. Metal realized what she was doing, but rather than pull away, he simply kept kissing Jill, making sure to keep his hands away from her back, so he wouldn't get in her way. Since he didn't stop her, Jill completely unzipped her top and let it fall to the ground...

...leaving her chest bare.

After she did that, though with a bit of reluctance, Metal reached over and gently took hold of her breasts, taking care not to be too rough. Having him grope her the first time was one thing, but when she felt it again without the barrier of clothing in the way, it was something else. She shuddered in delight at his touch, moaning again. After letting him do that for awhile, she led him toward the bed, still kissing him. Again, Metal allowed himself to be led away by Jill, still kissing her. Jill managed to lay them down on the bed, allowing Metal to be on top of her as the make-out continued. A flurry of emotions went through Metal as their tongues danced together; however, not a single one of them was in doubt. To Metal, this felt... good.

With that in mind, as they kept kissing, Metal began massaging Jill's breasts tenderly. Jill moaned a little louder, trembling at the power he had to make her feel so weak, and yet, so strong at the same time, and her hands dug up his back longingly. As they kept at it, Metal's thoughts began wandering. This did feel good, but... surely, this wouldn't be all of it? He wanted to ask Jill about this, but he was far too caught up in the moment to do so, continuing with kissing her and massaging her breasts. Soon, his question would be answered, as Jill started to reach for her ripped up jean-shorts. Somehow, she only had strength to unlatch the button on it; she could feel her strength crumbling away. Noticing that, Metal wondered if she still needed to recover from the abuse she had gone through... however, his own emotions got in the way, as he actually reached for her jean-shorts, aiding her in unzipping it. Jill was grateful for that, and with luck, she managed to slowly slip off the shorts, and finally kick them off.

Now, she was entirely naked.

Taking this moment, Metal broke away momentarily, just to gaze at Jill's body. Never in his time as a machine would he imagine himself saying something like this, but... "...you're... beautiful..." he said with a smile.

Jill smiled, blushing a bit. "…you…really think so?" she uttered.

"...I do." Metal nodded in reply, blushing a bit as well.

Jill looked up at Metal with such a sweet smile. Smiling in return, Metal gave Jill another kiss. Jill wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him back with the passion of the moment returning.


	11. Chapter 11

_**5 Years Later – Chapter Eleven…**_

"Eggman laughed and waved his hand, bringing out this gigantic Egyptian rock golem!" Right now, the group was sitting in a room on the pirate ship, sitting around Striker as he told the story.

Joy sat right in front of him, a pirate hat on her head that occasionally slipped down over her eyes because it was a bit too big, but right now she was immensely absorbed in this story he was telling.

"…so Sonic was running around," Striker continued, "when this Egyptian rock golem tried to smash him!"

Joy gasped.

"But Sonic was too fast, and there wasn't a scratch on him!" Striker said, easing Joy, "Because nobody can beat Sonic the Hedgehog!"

"Ooh, ooh, now comes the best part, Joy!" Jack whispered to her, as he was sitting right next to her, equally as absorbed in the story.

"Sonic took a flying leap!" Striker even made the gesture with his hand like a shooting rocket. "And with a kick, he knocked the dumb machine off of the golem's head, setting it free from Eggman's control!"

Joy was amazed. "It was under Eggman's cotrol?"

"That's right!" Striker said. "But now that Sonic broke that machine, the golem went after Eggman instead, so Sonic, the Professor, Amy, and Knuckles ran so that they could catch the space ship before it launched!"

"They went into outside space?" Joy uttered; she meant outer space, of course.

"Yeah!"

"Man! They managed to go to space, too?" Lin uttered in absolute awe. "That's too awesome!"

_"Come on; keep on telling!"_ Tails Doll chimed in, as he was perched on Lin's head during this story session.

"So they go to space," Striker continued. "But Knuckles is driving!" Another gasp from his audience, while he chuckles. "Something hits the ship and the hatch opens, so the pieces of the Master Emerald scatter out, and Knuckles goes off to look for them while the gang finally crashes aboard the Space Colony ARK."

"Where's Shadoh?" Joy asked.

"I'm getting there," Striker chuckled at Joy's enthusiasm.

Ani really admired how he told the story. It seemed like he's done this before, either that or he's really brushed up on his charisma. Either way, she felt like the story was being told to her the first time, being just as absorbed into it as the others.

Striker finally got to a good part, "So Shadow and Sonic finally meet, but they only exchange a few words before they fight!"

"Yaar, 't must`ve been quite th' struggle!" Whisker laughed, as he was also listening to this story.

"Don't stop there! Go on!" Lin urged.

"It was a long battle, and the two clashed like nobody's business!" Striker said. "But like I said before, nobody beats Sonic the Hedgehog!"

"Sonic won?" Joy asked excitedly.

"For now," Striker was now adding more suspense. "When Sonic beat him, he and Knuckles tried to go looking for Tails and Amy, and that's when the entire Space Colony ARK started shaking!"

Joy gasped again. For a 3 year old, she was able to imagine what happened perfectly. She could imagine Eggman appearing to them, tall twig legs, and that egg-shaped pot belly, and that large mustache...Rouge reading Professor Gerald's entries with her deep, breathy voice... All of them reluctantly agreeing to work together, so they could stop the Space Colony ARK from crashing into the Earth. _They hafta make it,_ she thought. _They just gotta make it!_

She saw Sonic running through the hallways made from glass and titanium, running into ugly scientific experiments and robots that stood in his way, but Sonic wiped them all out no problem; just like she hoped he would.

"Finally, they reached the chamber," Striker's voice echoed in the void of her imaged scene.

Yes, they reached that chamber; Sonic and Knuckles, the latter carrying the Master Emerald with him. They had to place the Master Emerald on that tower thingy on the other side of the chamber.

"But before they could do anything, the Biolizard appeared!"

Joy gasped again. _Oh no! Watch out Sonic and Knucklohs! _That giant creature seemed to pop out of nowhere, bigger than life itself and roaring down at the tiny Sonic and Knuckles before it with anger.

"Sonic and Knuckles were just fine though, because Shadow appeared in the nick of time to help them!"

_"Oh, man, this is intense!" _Tails Doll uttered in excitement.

Before the mighty lizard could strike down on the two, Shadow did indeed walk past them, a renewed resolve in his own mind, ready to strike down the failed attempt at creating an ultimate lifeform. Joy saw that black hedgehog with the red stripes walk up past the blue hedgehog and the red echidna, both of them looking at him in shock. "Shadow?"

"...leave this one to me." Shadow uttered, quickly looking at Sonic and Knuckles. "You go and get the Chaos Emeralds!" he roared, before glaring back at the massive monster.

Sweeping past the beast, Sonic and Knuckles headed for the tower while Shadow took on this giant creature. _You can do it Shadoh! _Joy thought. _I bewieve in you!_

With a small smile, Shadow actually nodded, before he leapt up towards the beast with kick at its head.

_Yay!_ Joy thought.

The battle was long and trying for Shadow. Knuckles meanwhile, put that giant green rock on the tower thingy and started saying weird things. _"The servers are the seven chaos. Chaos is power, enriched by the heart. The controller serves to unify that chaos!" _And that giant green rock started to glow. "Master Emerald, stop the Chaos Emeralds! You must keep this Space Colony ARK from crashing into our planet!" There was a bright flash, and Joy blinked, suddenly returning to the pirate ship where Striker was still telling the story.

"So it stopped the ARK, but the Biolizard still wasn't going to give up!" Striker continued. "It used Chaos Control too, and attached itself to the outside of the Space Colony ARK! Making it keep heading toward the Earth with a more deadly velocity!"

Even Ani gulped.

"But they hafta stop it!" Joy protested.

"That's right Joy, they had to," Striker grinned, getting to the climax of this story. "So they used all seven emeralds to become Supers!"

Joy's eyes widened. She saw Shadow and Sonic surrounded by those pretty glowing rocks of different colors, spinning faster and faster until Sonic and Shadow poofed! Now they were shiny! Sonic was golden, and Shadow was silverish, both of them glowing like angelic warriors. They used Chaos Control too, and popped back into outside space to find that big, mean old lizard on the front of the giant Space ARK...thingy. "You ready, Shadow?" Sonic chuckled with confidence.

"...let's do this." Shadow nodded, as he simply looked at the massive beast.

_Be careful! _Joy bid, and the two of them nodded as they tackled the beast. The battle was breathtaking for Joy! They used powers she only dreamed of, and they flew around in outside space like super fast birds! The Biolizard swiped, and shot beams, and threw projectiles at them, but it was useless!

"But they were running short on time! The Space Colony ARK was reaching the Earth's atmosphere and burning up like a meteor!"

Joy gasped once more, seeing the fire engulf the front of the Space ARK as it was getting too close to Earth. Oh no! It's gonna crash!

"Shadow, we gotta stop that thing!" Sonic uttered frantically, flying up in front of it.

Shadow, however, didn't respond, as he, along with Joy, heard a girl speak in his head.

_"Shadow...give them a chance to be happy. Even if they didn't deserve it...give them another chance, Shadow. I beg of you..."_

Joy clutched to her heart in desperation when she heard that voice. _Yeah Shadoh, you gotta save them!_ she thought. _There are lotsa nice people that gotta be saved!_

His eyes widening, Shadow seemed to gain a newfound resolve again. "...Sonic! We'll combine our powers, to warp the ARK away!" he called, as energy gathered around his hands.

Sonic mimicked what Shadow was doing, while questioning whether or not it was going to be safe, but there was no time for questioning at the moment. "I hope you know what you're doing!" Sonic called back, while the two gained more and more energy.

"Trust me; I do!" Shadow called, as the two flew right towards the incoming space station. When the two clashed against the Biolizard, the energy in their hands began brimming, before they gathered it in a massive sphere.

"CHAOS... CONTROL!"

The entire Space ARK was taken by that sphere and with a bright flash, it was suddenly gone. No more crashing into the Earth! However, there was one thing that hadn't vanished; Shadow, who had become drained from such a massive feat. As his being plummeted towards the planet, one last thought ran through his head.

_...Maria... this is what you wanted, right? This is my promise... I made to you..._

Joy held her mouth in shock. Oh no! Shadoh was falling! Then she saw the ARK again. The ARK wasn't shaking no more. Everybody in it was all safe and sound, but they were a little scared. Where was Sonic and Shadoh? Then the door opened and Sonic walked in. But no Shadoh?

"...where's Shadow?" Rouge asked.

Joy was almost afraid to find out. She saw Sonic hold up just a golden ring with a pained look on his face, and she gasped. No! Shadoh still had to be okay! Joy was ready to cry, pouted lip and tears rolling down. Rouge looked a little sad too, taking the golden ring and looking up at Sonic.

Striker suddenly stopped, and grew worried when he saw Joy crying. "What's wrong Joy?"

"Shadoh didn't come back!" She said heart-wretchedly, sniffing. "Is Shadoh okay?" Blinking, everyone glanced at Joy.

Striker smiled in sympathy, rubbing her head comfortingly. "Don't worry Joy. He's really okay. They see him again later on, and he's just fine."

Joy smiled with relief, and she wiped away her tears happily.

"No matter how many times I hear that story, it never gets old," Milo remarked, smiling.

"...did Shadoh keep Mawia's promise?" Joy asked, stopping the motion in the room once more.

Striker was stunned that Joy even asked that question. Sure, later on Tails found out about Maria, and how she and Shadow had been close those years ago, but when Striker told the story just now, he never even mentioned Maria, or the promise that Shadow wanted to keep. Eventually, he gave her a smile to keep Joy from asking about his surprise. "...Yeah, Joy," he said. "Shadow kept Maria's promise."

_...First that drawing of Jill,_ Ani thought, looking at the little ewe. _...and now this?_

_...weird..._ Jack thought, as he looked at her, before smiling. _...she'd fit right in with us._

That's when another question popped into Joy's head. "Strikoh, how come Metoh looks like Sonic?" she asked.

Boy, was that a dozy to try and explain to her.

They all looked at Striker, who looked back at them questionably. What was he going to say? He had to say something, because Joy was just going to ask the question again. Any 3 year old would ask that question again if they didn't get an answer. There was NO WAY he should tell her that Metal was once a killing machine for Dr. Eggman.

"Metal's...uh..." Striker suddenly got a very funny idea. "...That's because Sonic was Metal's grandpa!"

_WHAT?_ Milo thought in a fluster.

Joy was in awe, "WOW!"

Ani suddenly took Striker aside. "What do you think you're doing?" she whispered sternly.

"I HAD to say something or she was going to ask again!" Striker protested in another whisper. "It's better than telling her the truth! It just means we'll have to tell Metal that we said that though, so he'll play along, but you know..."

Tails Doll couldn't help but blink, whilst looking at Striker. _...wow... I can't imagine how Big Bro would react to hearing that,_ he thought.

At that point, Joy heard a thud, as someone crashed into the ground, barely able to move.

"...huh?" Joy turned, wondering who it was. It was Shadow, lying in a crater where he had landed after falling out of the sky. The silver glow around him faded away, and his black fur became prominent once more. A clap of thunder rang across the empty fields, as rain started to pour down the area.

...Shadow was lying so peacefully there, asleep. He really was okay...Strikoh was right...but Shadoh was gonna catch a cold if he didn't wake up. _C'mon Shadoh, wake up,_ Joy thought worriedly. However, Shadow didn't move. It was as if all power had been drained from his entire body.

Joy could see someone walking towards the unconscious hedgehog, with heavy, slow steps. She wondered about that, all at the same time scared of what she might see, for some reason.

Eventually, she got a good look at it. It was a machine of sorts, though somehow it looked like Sonic. One could tell that it wasn't Sonic obviously, but the overall design seemed to be derived from him. Stopping by Shadow's body, this machine simply looked down at him with those cold, red eyes.

This machine looked unfamiliar to Joy for the most part...except those piercing red eyes. She remembered seeing one of those on...and she gasped. No... It couldn't be...could it?

Silently it simply looked down at him, and then the machine picked up the fallen Shadow ... before its gaze instantly directed itself towards Joy.

Joy let out a shudder of fear while looking back.

The machine heard something ring in his ear. "Have you reclaimed him?" Eggman's voice uttered in his head.

_"...yes." _the machine nodded.

"Excellent! We'll initiate the Shadow Android project right away! Return to base... Metal Sonic!"

With another nod, jets flared up underneath the machine's boots, before he rocketed up into the rainy sky, taking Shadow with him.

Joy gasped, covering her mouth. She even recognized the voice coming from that machine, despite the fact it sounded more synthetic and mechanical. _...Metoh?_

"Hey!" Striker suddenly blurted which snapped Joy out of her thoughts. "We could try to look for Professor Gerald's prison cell on the island!"

Ani brightened up, sharing his enthusiasm. "I never even thought about that!"

"Just think of the equations and notes he has up on that wall!" Striker continued excitedly, pounding his fist in his hand.

_"...it would certainly be interesting to look at,"_ Snap admitted.

"That would be the best!" Jack laughed. "Let's go and see it!"

"Sorry, but I've gotta pass on that one." Lin said with a small laugh. "I've got to get back on my shift, soon."

_"Aaw..."_ Tails Doll moaned. _"Lame."_

"Well, it can't be helped, I guess..." Jack shrugged, as he glanced at Joy. "What about you? Do you wanna come along too, Joy?"

Joy looked at all of them. She wasn't sure what she saw just now, and she was a little scared because of it, but looking for Professor Gerald's prison cell sounded really fun! Like some sort of... "...it's lika treashure hunt for piwates!" Joy uttered, smiling wide.

"Yeah! That's a good idea!" Striker laughed, liking the way Joy thought.

"Yar har har har har! A treasure hunt, 't is!" Whisker laughed, as he clapped his hands together. "Sea dogs an' land lubbers, let`s find that booty!"

"Aye!" both Jack and Tails Doll cheered.

Joy jumped to her feet, holding up her large pirate hat on her head as she, Tails Doll, Jack, Lin, and Whisker marched out the door enthusiastically. Striker and Ani noticed Milo hesitate, and they looked at him. "What's up?" Ani asked.

"Just now...I could tell that Joy felt scared," Milo answered, "for no reason whatsoever." Then he walked past Striker and Ani after the others. "You better hope that Joy believes what you said about Sonic being Metal's grandpa," they heard him say.

"...what's that supposed to mean?" Striker questioned, but Milo was too far from ear shot to hear him.

"...weird..." Ani murmured.

Then the two of them ended up finding each other's eyes, and stared at each other again.

"Uh!" Striker pulled away hurriedly, blushing. "We should follow the others..."

"...yeah," Ani replied, blushing herself. Striker did this without thinking, but he grabbed Ani's hand and dragged her along so that they wouldn't get left behind by everybody. Looking at their hands, Ani blushed even more.

* * *

"...Oblivion." Standing a distance from Oblivion and the sleeping Charon was Krieg, who had his arms folded. "Spiel is expecting you."

Oblivion drew a heaving sigh. "...alright." So she stood up with one last glance at Charon, and went following Krieg down the road.

For the most part, Krieg was silent, as he kept focused on walking down the path without tripping or going over the edge. "...how did you two meet? You and Charon." he eventually inquired.

"...I found him dying in a pit 4 years ago," Oblivion answered. "Naturally...I felt for him, and nursed him back to health. He told me that I shouldn't have helped him...that I should have left him dying in that pit. I asked him why he said something so cruel...and he just remained silent."

Krieg nodded, though he said nothing.

Oblivion looked up at the sky. "…after a while of getting used to my company, he became more willing to tell me about himself. Many thought he was a monster…judging him on his ferocious appearance and his temper…he even may loose himself on a rampage…but I knew he was someone else inside…"

"…someone else thought that too."

"...hm?" Krieg hummed with interest.

"…he never really told me who she was," Oblivion murmured. "All he told me was that she cared about him, even if everyone else thought he was a monster…but Charon grew very quiet when I asked what happened to her."

Still silent, Krieg turned his head towards Oblivion.

"He waited until we became closer to tell me, when he felt more comfortable," Oblivion said, "and even then…it wasn't anything pleasant. Something drove him to anger and rage, and he couldn't control himself…" Oblivion shuddered when she thought about what she was going to say next. "…in the midst of his rage, she tried to stop him, and he…killed her."

"...my condolences..." Krieg muttered, as he looked away. "...what was her name?"

"…her name was Jane," Oblivion murmured. "…I know, because sometimes when he's asleep…I'll hear him murmur her name…"

"...hm." Nodding, Krieg let out a small sigh. "...why did you two come to this island? And for that matter... how did you hide him away for so long?"

"…this island was far away from everyone who would hold prejudice against Charon, or fear him enough to try and kill him," Oblivion said. "Safe Haven's very name sounded like…salvation. As for hiding him for so long, well…" She looked at her own hands. "…I've had to erase more memories than I can count."

"...hm..." Krieg hummed. "...becoming one of Spiel's followers, without actually sharing his beliefs... it's beneficial for you, just as much as it is dangerous."

Oblivion became a little uneasy, "How so?"

"...Spiel is an influential character." Krieg said, folding his arms. "No matter who it is, as long as they follow him, he'll provide protection for them... however, that comes at a price." Then, he turned his head to Oblivion again. "...they need to pay for that protection. Not with money, nor with their bodies... but with deeds Spiel wants them to fulfill. Deeds that require brute force... he might think of sending you or Charon to brutalize someone."

Oblivion grew silent at the sound of that. She would do anything to keep Charon safe, but the thought that he would be used was worrying. "…what reason do _you _have to follow him?" she asked, turning back to Krieg.

"...we share the same goal." Krieg uttered, looking away from Oblivion. "He longs to see a united world... and that is what I wish for; a world where there is no conflict and everyone is allied with one another."

"…A united world…" Oblivion uttered, looking down at the ground. "…that kind of idea…could mean two different things between you and Spiel…" she didn't know why, but Spiel just…wasn't the friendly type, even if he seemed to be.

"...I doubt it." Krieg noted. "...let us hurry; Spiel wanted us by his side. He's about to gain another follower."

Oblivion grew more curious at the mention of that, so she made an effort to pick up the walking pace.

After a while, the two got to the bottom of the path, where they came across a hut that had been set up a small distance away. Entering it, the two saw Spiel sitting in a chair, his head resting on his left hand, whilst looking at someone in front of him. "Aah... Krieg and Oblivion. What good timing! Why don't you introduce yourself to them?" Spiel chuckled, which made the one he addressed glance towards them.

"...um... the name's Ruki?" the red scorpion uttered.

"…Oblivion," she answered, bowing her head politely.

"Krieg." Krieg uttered with a brief nod.

"Alright..." Chuckling, Spiel returned his gaze to Ruki. "...now, why did you come to Safe Haven?"

Looking back at the pig, Ruki nodded. "...because I wanted to get stronger!"

"Really? How noble." Spiel chuckled. "Indeed; with King as the leader, you're bound to grow stronger in due time..."

Oblivion remained silent, since she was not addressed to.

"...however..." Spiel hummed, as he stood up. "...King's short-sighted. He usually only acts on impulse, and rarely thinks ahead of time..."

"...many great leaders have been like that." Ruki noted, not taking her eyes away from Spiel.

"Of course, of course; I'm not trying to make King look bad, here!" Spiel laughed, as he approached Ruki. "Being able to lead an entire nation of soldiers, whilst having that kind of thought process is a good thing! But... is that gonna help you get any stronger?"

Oblivion didn't exactly like the way he was talking. It was just…the subtlety of it…

"...well... I need to become stronger, so..." Ruki uttered, glancing away from Spiel.

"...what would you prefer?" Spiel hummed, as he turned away from Ruki. "Would you prefer waiting for the day King's ways will allow you to grow stronger... or would you rather become stronger as quickly as possible?" Smirking, he closed his eyes. "...it's all up to you... Ruki."

Ruki blinked, before she closed her eyes in thought. "...I..."

…_don't be hasty, Ruki,_ Oblivion thought to herself.

"...I..." Gritting her teeth, Ruki eventually looked back at Spiel. "...I... absolutely need to grow stronger! Rather now than later!"

"...that's what I wanted to hear." Spiel chuckled. "So... you'll become one of my followers?"

"...yes." Ruki nodded.

Hearing that, Krieg sighed. Oblivion also shared that sigh, as well as shake her head, but she made sure that Spiel didn't see her do that.

"...that's good." Spiel chuckled, turning to place a hand on Ruki's shoulder. "Just keep this a secret between us... no one else needs to know about this, unless you want them to."

"...I understand." Ruki nodded. "As long as I can grow stronger, I don't care what I need to do."

"Good. Now, hurry along. Krieg will fetch you to me if I need your assistance." Spiel chuckled, and with a nod, Ruki walked out, brushing past Krieg and Oblivion.

Once Ruki was gone, Oblivion looked back at Spiel. "…I've spoken with Charon…and we both are going to agree to your bargain," she murmured.

"...good." Spiel chuckled, as he folded his arms behind his back. "You and Charon... what a curious pair."

"...Spiel?" Krieg uttered, as he tilted his head.

"A girl who can erase memories... and someone with monstrous power... both of them close to each other..." Spiel mused, still chuckling. "Yes... truly a curious pair..."

Oblivion's look actually grew sour. "…may I leave, or do you have more business with me?" she asked.

"...take your leave." Spiel chuckled, as he turned away. "Krieg, be kind and escort her back up."

"...as you wish." Krieg nodded, before he turned towards the doorway, waiting for Oblivion to follow him.

Once Oblivion followed Krieg out, she softened. "…does Spiel intend to do anything about what Diablo has planned?" she asked quietly, not to arouse suspicion in other people.

"...Diablo's plans?" Krieg uttered, as he led Oblivion up the path. "I'm sorry, but... I think I may not be informed enough about that. Care to elaborate?"

"…Diablo is trying to tempt the dark powers that are said to lurk within Jillian," Oblivion murmured.

"...hrm... I see..." Krieg hummed, as he folded his arms. "...well, Spiel and Diablo aren't exactly on good terms with one another... I'm not sure if he cares about Jillian's condition or not... but if he finds that Diablo steps out of line, he'll likely take care of it."

Oblivion wasn't sure what to think of that, but she wondered just how bad things would get. ...whatever happens, she thought, closing her eyes, I only hope that Joy is kept safe and sound...

"...we shouldn't keep Charon waiting." Krieg noted, as he picked up the pace. "Let us move."

"Right..."

* * *

"...really, Sage, why'd you pull us with you, too?" King grunted, just as he, along with Tasha, Sage, Queen and Hunter, entered Raider's old hideout. "I can understand that you wanna get to the bottom of this, but we've got to take care of the soldiers and villagers that were injured..."

"Which is exactly why I only brought you four with me." Sage hummed, as she held the data stick she had taken from Raider in her hands. "You and Tasha definitely need find out what kind of information that ox tried getting rid of..."

"...it wouldn't surprise me if he and Diablo have gone into hiding..." Queen mused, unaware of Raider's ultimate fate.

"We'll find them soon enough," Hunter said.

"But until then...I guess we have to find out what they did," Tasha supposed.

Nodding, Sage sat down by one of the computers, switching it on. "...let's see, now..."

"...hrm..." Humming, King folded his arms, as he waited for Sage to obtain the info they needed.

The computer itself, they found, seemed to be wiped clean from any information they were looking for; only information about each soldier on the island and miscellaneous data. When Sage inserted the data stick, however, it opened up a window that showed a few files. One named "BACKGROUND INFORMATION," another named, "IMPORTANT PEOPLE"...

...and one more, named "PROGRESS ON EXPERIMENT: CALLOUS."

Hunter's eyes widened. "...no..."

"...experiment Callous?" King uttered. "Those bastards..."

"...how could they know about Callous...?" Queen hummed.

"...I think we need to find out." Sage said, as she attempted to access that file.

More documents were presented. Text documents reading "Day One," and "Day Two." "Day Three" did not exist, perhaps because that was when all the chaos erupted and could have interrupted their "experiment," as the psychos insisted on calling it. There was also security footage of Jill, just to make sure she didn't try to escape.

"...why would they..." King snarled.

"...there must be some form of explanation for this "experiment" of theirs somewhere around here..." Sage muttered, quickly scanning through the documents.

While looking through Day One, Sage read through parts of it. _"Even after more than 50 lashes, the subject hasn't responded other than pain. Perhaps Callous is stubborn? Would she come out if Jill were finally broken, I wonder?" _and another part like, _"Then again, physical torture is commonplace for her after what Deity Novagod had done to her, and-"_

"They knew about Deity Novagod, too?" Hunter uttered, catching that line with his eyes.

"...someone has been busy..." Sage muttered, keeping on reading the document. _...damn... why didn't I figure this out earlier?_ she thought, gritting her teeth.

_"End of Day One, and Jillian has proven to be tougher than I thought. Even if she seems to be tender, she can also be hard as nails to break. Like I wrote before, physical torture may not work. Perhaps we need a more psychological twist in these methods..._

_I decided to see if letting Raider loose on her would have any effect. He was more than delighted to oblige. After all, sexual abuse can be both physical and psychological."_

Tasha covered her mouth in horror, and shook her head in denial. "...no...how could they?"

"...honorless curs..." Queen snarled, as she slammed her fist into a wall. "...I will wring their necks when I next see them."

Keeping silent, Sage kept reading through the documents, a hardened look on her face. King noticed that, and glanced at the raven with a curious look.

_"Day Two. Another thought occurred to me. Callous could only be summoned in dire situations, such as Jillian's life being threatened? So I decided to let her continue to starve just to see how long Jill can last in strength, and to see if Callous really would finally come out in the last minute of life she has left. It's tough though; Jill still hasn't shown signs of breaking...even after Raider abused her for the second time."_

"...they were trying to draw out Callous, but why?" Hunter questioned.

"...I doubt that they did it for laughs; they must've had some form of motive." King muttered.

"...were they intending to stage some form of coup?" Queen uttered.

"Perhaps the answer lies somewhere around here..." Sage hummed.

After looking a bit, Sage managed to find a paragraph somewhere. _"The powers to manipulate the dark...how intriguing. If only I could have powers like that; evoking the worst fears in someone, creating even more haunting illusions than my own, bringing back the dead... "_

"...he's heard of Corruption," Hunter murmured, reading the same paragraph.

_"Judging by the history they have, Callous should not have a care for Jill's welfare anyway; perhaps that is why she doesn't come out. She may even want us to kill Jillian, just to set her free, but no, that would mean we would lose Callous too. It has come to my attention that we cannot allow Jill to die. She has already gone the first two days without food, and she can only last for so much longer. Therefore, I think it's time we bring in Oblivion..."_

_"End of Day Two."_

"...and with no documentation on the third day... that's it..." Sage muttered, sighing.

"...damn it..." King growled, as he sat down on a chair, rubbing his temples to try and let the it all sink in. "...this went on behind my back..."

"...don't beat yourself up over it, King." Queen uttered, setting a hand on his shoulder. "We've been through far worse. Diablo and Raider will pay for their sins."

Tasha looked at King helplessly. She wanted to try and comfort him...but she didn't know how.

"...still, how do they know these things about Jill, and Callous?" Hunter asked. "Does the 'BACKGROUND INFORMATION' file have anything to offer, Sage?"

"...let me see..." Sage hummed, as she went over to that file.

More files popped out and Sage clicked one. _"Callous was an alter ego created by a vampire named Deity Novagod," she read. "According to Jill's stories, Callous possesses weapons such as dual whips and a large scythe. Mostly, she uses seductive charms and manipulative powers to get what she wants; similar to Hex's tactics, but I suppose Callous wasn't a nymphomaniac. At least, not unless Johnny's involved..."_

"Dear lord..." Hunter uttered in disbelief. "They know about Johnny too."

"...how..." The more King learned of what Raider and Diablo knew about Jill's, and even their own pasts, the more distraught he appeared.

"Kkh... someone's really been busy." Sage growled, as she kept on reading.

_"Callous seemed to be concerned only with getting rid of Jill, Metal, and ultimately Deity Novagod. Her plans for what she would do afterwards are unknown, but it's obvious that she wasn't going to let anyone tell her what she was and wasn't going to do. After Jill's sacrifice though, her intentions seemed to change, especially when Johnny was finally killed and put away with. I wonder sometimes how Callous still feels about that..." _That was that entire one, so Sage went onto another file.

_"Jillian Condit. A girl with extraordinary abilities, and yet, no one has ever heard of her. Why? GUN lied to the public about the events concerning Metal Sonic, that's why. Shadow the Hedgehog was said to have died a hero, but he never stood a chance against Metal Sonic. Only Jillian was a worthy enough challenger to fight him. She had quite childish friends, such as Striker, Milo, Jack, and even Anistasia Symphony. Also, there was a Brick Cainfield that was recorded to be deceased 3 years ago. I can only assume that this is Joy's real father, because of the intimate relationship Jill had with him. Many others stood behind her as well; like King and his group for instance. Many were much older than her...yet they followed her? Oh, how ironic... but I suppose that is all you can do, when Jillian is the only one who could fight Johnny."_

Hunter was speechless at what he was reading.

Sage also seemed to grow more serious the more she read, as she noticed that King was getting really anxious. With a sigh, Sage kept on reading.

_"Metal Sonic. What an interesting case indeed. He began as nothing more than a machine created by Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik in the image of his arch rival, Sonic the Hedgehog. He awakes years later long after the famous Sonic's death and finds himself in a twist of fate when he challenges Jillian Condit. Baffled by defeat, he finds ways to destroy her, but his methods are only much too weak in efficiency. When he begins to learn of the forces that Jill has been involved with, it has caused enough trouble for him that he was actually willing to make a truce with Jill, just to stop Callous and Johnny. Throughout training, the two grow a respect, which starts to bloom into a friendly bond. Oh, how a machine could feel when Jillian threw away her life for him; nobody could have anticipated that, or that they would separate in the very end when everything was finished. I could very well be that because Metal sealed Deity Novagod away within himself, he didn't want to cause any harm to Jill by simply being near her."_

_"But look now. Metal has returned once again to Jill, and intends to protect her and Joy at all costs, even with his life. Why Metal would return, I would not know, but I believe that he is a dangerous thorn in my side. If Jill was willing to give up her life to save him from Callous though, then he could be one of the key tools to help break Jill, and bring out Callous."_

Reading this, Queen snarled. "...is this the end of it?"

"...let me see..." Sage replied, as she checked to see if there was more data left.

There was one more file. It had only a title like this: "**? ? ?**"

"...what the heck?" Hunter muttered.

"...let's find out what this is, then." Sage nodded, going into this file.

When Sage clicked it, another text document opened up.

_"King, Sage, Anybody...if you guys are reading this, I hope that you already know what Diablo and Raider have done to Jill..."_

"...well, this was written in a different tone," Hunter remarked.

_"I have already looked through all this information myself, and am amazed. I had no idea Jill had...such a past. On the third day when Jill and I escaped, she was...very thoroughly traumatized by her experience. The only strength she was able to hold onto were the thoughts Joy and Metal. She doesn't remember anything now...she didn't deserve to remember the horrible things done to her. If that woman transformed a cold, heartless machine into an honest man, then she didn't deserve to remember the past three days. But this doesn't mean that Diablo and Raider are done yet...no... Diablo had gone so far as tried to burn Jill's house and throw that knife at Joy to get Callous' attention, so he is driven to find a way to pull Callous out of Jill and use her to his whim. You have to find him and stop him before he does something too drastic...and knowing Diablo and Kiri, anyone who is close to Jill could be in grave danger."_

_"Sage, if you are the one reading this, then you already know who I am."_

That was all of that document.

"...who... wrote that...?" Queen uttered, as she looked at Sage.

Sage, however, was silent, as she closed her eyes. _...Oblivion..._

"...that's it." With a fierce scowl, King stood up, cracking his knuckles. "...he did all this crap, just to try and harness Callous' strength... as of this moment, Diablo, Kiri and Raider will no longer be considered a part of Safe Haven."

"...that means..." Queen mused, as she looked at King.

"Yes..." King nodded, as he looked at everyone present. "...we can beat the shit out of them!"

"If we can find them, first," Hunter added. "Raider will probably be no problem to find, but Diablo and Kiri seem to be more slippery."

Tasha just looked at King in disbelief. Sure, she knew they had done horrible things, and of course, they needed to be stopped... but was beating them senseless really a practical solution to this? Even beating up a 7 year old little girl, despite the way she made flesh crawled at her sight?

"...just leave Raider to me." Sage hummed, without looking at King. "We should organize the other agents to search for any traces of Diablo and Kiri."

"...it would be wise to employ the assistance of Teams Chaotix and Alpha, too." Queen shot in. "We also need to find someone who can keep a watchful eye on Jill, Joy and Metal; if any of those three fall into Diablo and Kiri's hands..."

"...you know..." King muttered, as he folded his arms. "...I think I know a guy who can help out."

Tasha knew things like this had to be done, of course... but what King said still bothered her. Finally, she just turned around and started leaving. King blinked once Tasha left, before he followed her. "Sage, you know what to do." he said before he left.

"...I see..." Sage hummed, as she watched the two leave. _...this is... _she thought.

"...something on your mind, Sage?" Queen mused, as she glanced at the raven.

"...nothing." Sage lied.

Tasha stopped walking when she heard King following her, but she didn't turn to him.

"...Tasha... is something wrong?" King uttered, as he stopped directly behind her.

"...is what you said true?" she uttered. "...that you would pummel them without any mercy?"

"...Tasha..." Rubbing the back of his neck, King sighed. "...well... it's not like they don't deserve it, but... I might have been too extreme with what I said..."

"...I don't know King. You're usually pretty frank with what you say." Using that name, King could tell that Tasha didn't sound too happy. She was still faced away from him. "...you would even harm a 7 year old girl, because she deserved it?"

King blinked, before he looked away. "...well, I couldn't hurt kids, Tasha... but even then, Kiri might be even worse than Diablo."

"...so that's the way it is, isn't it?" Tasha uttered. "...you let Callous get away with murder because it wasn't Jill's fault, but you'll attack a little girl? As far as I'm concerned, King, Kiri didn't have any involvement with this "experiment." It was only Diablo and Raider..." Well, pressing the issue was a bit much, but what Tasha's father told her about King... that was deep in the back of her mind.

"I..." King uttered, as he eventually placed a hand on Tasha's shoulder, a calm look on his face. "...listen; Jill couldn't control Callous, so there's no way she could be punished... but Kiri..." Gritting his teeth, he looked away. "...fine... I'll leave Kiri out of it..."

That sort of thing wasn't what Tasha really wanted out of it. "...King...that's not the point I was getting at," she uttered. "...I just don't want you to be reckless. I don't want you to senselessly beat up any criminal that does horrible things like this...if you did that...you wouldn't be any different than they would..." She, herself, didn't anticipate that coming out of her mouth.

Hearing that, King blinked. "...Tasha..." he uttered, before closing his eyes. "...I... I'm sorry... it's just that... the things they've done behind my back are..."

Tasha finally spun around, glaring at him, although there were also tears welled up in her eyes. "Jill has had things done to her! Right in front of her face! I don't know all of what was done exactly, but it sounds to me like she's been through a lot! But does she go and viciously rip them to shreds because of what they've done to her? No!" She turned away, ashamed that she let King see her like that.

King was astounded by that outrage, as he could only look at the lynx in awe. "...Tasha..." he uttered.

"...send your search parties, and do with them what you want when you find them...but I won't have any part in it..." then she wiped her eyes. "...if you'll excuse me, my people are still injured and need my care..." and Tasha started walking away again.

_...Tasha..._ King thought, simply watching her leave. Before long, he looked away, holding his hand before his eyes. _...damn it... this wouldn't have happened, if I had dealt with this problem before... _Placing a hand against the wall, King tried holding back tears. _...what kinda leader am I supposed to be...?_

_

* * *

_

Jill was cozily asleep under the covers with her head nuzzled up to a warm chest in comfort. Still awake, Metal simply glanced down at Jill. _...seems like she was right..._ he thought. Somehow, it felt natural, what he did... but more importantly, the feelings he found from this were extraordinary...

...especially those regarding Jill.

While still asleep, she snuggled closer to him with a small smile. Metal smiled too, as he placed a hand on Jill's head. _...Jill... I thank you... from the bottom of my heart..._ he thought.

A longer time of silence passed on...

...finally, Jill took in a deep sigh as she cracked her eyes opened a tad. It took a few sluggish blinks to wake up, before she looked up at Metal. "...how long was I out?" she mumbled.

"...you were out for... I think at least 20 minutes." Metal answered, still looking at Jill.

Jill smiled in amusement. "I didn't realize you were keeping track," she muttered.

"...force of habit, I guess." Metal chuckled, as he smiled as well.

Jill laid her head back down on his chest, still smiling. "...it's funny," she murmured. "I never thought this would happen to the two of us..." Then she became nervous that it might have come out wrong. "..well, I didn't mean it in a bad way, it's just that..."

"...I know..." Metal said reassuringly, gently stroking Jill's cheek with one finger. "...it's truly a curious case... but nonetheless... it's a good thing."

Jill found the stroking pleasant. "...how did it feel...for your first time?" she asked a bit curiously.

Metal blinked, as he looked up at the ceiling. "...there's a lot that I felt..." he mused. "...but to summarize it... it felt... good."

She sort of buried her face in his chest to hide the fact she was blushing a bit. "Even if it wasn't my first time..." Jill murmured. "...it felt pretty good for me too..."

"...really?" Metal hummed, as he looked down at Jill. "...that's... good... right?" he eventually said, not noticing that he was slightly blushing as well.

Jill looked up at him and giggled when she saw that. "...yeah, that's good," she answered.

Smiling awkwardly, Metal scratched his cheek a little.

Jill smiled awkwardly too, but for a different reason. "...I'm not sure if I want to think about what Sage's reaction to this is when she finds out," she murmured.

"...though, she did say that she'd keep it a secret... until we're ready to reveal this to the others..." Metal mused.

"Right..." Jill chuckled while she laid her head back down on Metal's chest again. "...but then the reaction of the others..."

"...hm..." Metal hummed, falling silent. He did wonder how the others would react to this... likely not with immediate acceptance. "...we'll worry about that when the time comes..." he eventually resolved.

"Yeah..." Jill's turn to fall quiet came. How was Joy going to react? Obviously you couldn't tell a 3 year old about sex, but Jill meant more in general about how close she and Metal were. Joy already was pretty attached to Metal, and if Jill said something... Joy might think that Metal was becoming her... "...Metal, do you care about Joy?" the question came out before Jill even realized she asked it.

Metal blinked, as he looked at Jill. "...yes..." he nodded. "...I do care for her... why do you ask?"

"...just a thought," Jill replied quickly.

"...alright..." Metal hummed, before looking back at the ceiling.

Now Jill didn't want to leave it at that. _Aw, darn it... _"...I was just wondering...if Joy would think you were her..." she couldn't even finish it. "...her father." There we go.

Metal blinked at hearing that. "...her... father..." he mused. Could that really be done? A former machine such as him, being the father of a child like Joy?

"...that... actually sounds plausible..." he eventually hummed.

Jill bit her lip. "...it's a bit of a big change..." After all, while she was beginning to get used the idea of letting Brick go as a lover, it was hard to think about letting him go as Joy's real father.

"...it is..." Metal nodded, as he looked at Jill. "...I won't force you to make a decision, Jill; it's all up to you." he said with a smile. "Take all the time you need."

Another funny thing was that Jill was about to worry that she might be rushing Metal. It's only been a week and a day or so that he's been here, and already they were talking about this? Well...they were also in a bed only a day after they first kissed. So much for rushing it... "...it's something to think about," Jill said.

"...it certainly is..." Metal replied.

"...do you think we should get up, and get back before the others start wondering about us?" Jill asked.

"...if you feel that we should do it..." Metal mused, before nodding. "...then we'll do so."

"Oh...really?" Jill started blushing again, and felt warm all over. "Because I was actually wondering if..."

Blinking, Metal glanced at Jill. "...you..." he uttered, feeling a bit hotter, too. "...you want to... do it once more?"

Jill's feet shuffled a little. "...I mean, if you don't want to, that's okay...but..."

"...actually..." Metal uttered, managing a smile. "...I... think I'd like to do it again."

Jill looked up at Metal. "...really?"

Metal nodded, placing a hand on Jill's cheek. "...really." he said, still smiling.

Jill touched the hand on her cheek, smiling as well. Slowly, she kissed his hand, and then soon she reached over and kissed his lips. As she kissed him, Metal gently wrapped his arms around Jill, bringing her closer to him as he kissed her back. Jill caressed his back while their heated bodies pressed against each other. Metal also caressed Jill's back, letting his emotions take over once again. Jill's breath quickened more anxiously. Was it getting warmer in the room? No matter, since she was more interested on stroking his thigh again. When she did that, Metal quivered in excitement, eventually slipping one hand over to Jill's chest, gently starting to massage her breasts once more. Jill let out a whisper of a moan again, feeling the temperature rising higher. She even wrapped her leg around his this time. When she did that, Metal grew more excited, using his other hand to caress Jill's belly.

This... really was good.

* * *

So there they were, the Clubhouse Pirates, marching through the green forest merrily. Jack was playing a tune on his harmonica while the boys were singing a tune just as lively as Jack's playing. Joy clapped her hands and giggled with it.

_"Oh, so launch me overboard if I ain't an honest man!" _Striker and Milo sang; their arms over each others shoulders._ "But mind ye be careful, 'cause there ain't much I demand!"_

Ani was laughing. This was an entertaining sight. Snap finally learned the definition of "mischievous" and he used the definition in context, taking pictures of the boys so animated with delight.

_"I hope there comes the time where we may spot a bit of land,"_ Striker sang.

_"Oh, wouldn't that be such a time, why it would be so grand!" _Milo replied.

_"If only there would be a lass there I could call me own,"_ Striker heaved; making Ani blush wildly.

_"There _is_ a lass you call your own; it be your mum from home!"_ Milo mocked.

_"Oh, so launch me overboard if I ain't an honest man! But mind ye be careful, 'cause there ain't much I demand!"_

"Yar, ye got 't!" Whisker laughed, clapping his hands in rhythm with the song. "Next verse!"

_"Yay~! Next verse!"_ Tails Doll cheered, sitting on top of the robot pirate's hat.

_"I chose the life of sailing the seas to gain myself some leeway!"_ Striker continued.

_"You sure it ain't to sing the songs and play the pirate way?"_ Milo questioned.

_"Sure you laugh and mock me now, but wait until you're comatose,"_ Striker retorted_. "I'll grab your by your skinny ankles and tickle you by your toes!"_

_"Oh, so launch me overboard if I ain't an honest man! But mind ye be careful, 'cause there ain't much I demand!"_

"Solo!" Striker shouted, pointing at Jack.

The moment he said that, Jack broke out in playing the harmonica in a faster beat, performing a catchy beat that rang through the woods. They all clapped on tandem happily; well, maybe except Snap who didn't exactly know how to keep a beat, but even then he was more busy taking pictures. Joy, somehow, actually did keep a beat. No doubt that a sense of rhythm was so natural for a girl who shared her musical talents with her mother.

Soon Jack's solo finished, and Striker and Milo continued to the last verse.

_"So when time has passed and all my adventures are coming to an end,"_ Striker sang, a bit slower with more feeling. _"I fear that I must say that all our mates will come to rend..."_

_"Oh, but don't fear faithful companion, we do not abandon yet,"_ Milo replied; with the same feeling. _"We'll always remember the times, the good, the bad, and especially when we met!"_

_"Oh, so launch me overboard if I ain't an honest man! But mind ye be careful, 'cause-" _Both of them took a deep breath for the big finish in harmony, "-_there ain't much I demaaaaaaaaaand!"_ When they were finally done, they got an instant applause from everyone, and Striker and Milo bowed.

_"Whoo! That was amazing!"_ Tails Doll cheered as he applauded the two of them.

Taking the instrument off his lips, Jack took a deep breath, wiping his brow. "Man, I love that song!" he laughed.

Ani shook her head, still laughing. "You guys have a lot of free time on your hands, thats for sure," she chuckled.

"Well, of course," Striker replied. "That's why we put it to good use!"

"I like that song!" Joy giggled, trying to hold in the giggles.

"...you know what?" Snap decided to mention this, "I know that Ani and Joy can sing too." Ani blushed bashfully, while Joy smiled bigger.

"Be that right?" Whisker noted, before laughing. "Well, this be news t' me!"

"Alright! When we sing our next song, you two gotta join in!" Jack laughed.

"But Ani's gotta sing a song by herself!" Joy insisted. "She's got a pretty voice!"

"Is that so?" Striker raised an eyebrow in interest at Ani, smiling.

"...oh...well, I don't know," Ani was blushing even more.

_"...come to think of it Ani, I never got the chance to hear you sing, myself,"_ Snap added.

_"...yeah, that's right!"_ Tails Doll chimed in. _"Come on; sing a song!"_

Ani looked to the ground shyly.

Striker scratched the back of his head. "...well, you don't have to sing if you don't want to-"

"_Cinderella's on her bedroom floor, she's got a crush on the guy at the liquor store,"_ Ani suddenly burst out, startling everybody which such a voice. _"Cause Mr. Charming don't come home anymore and she forgets why she came here."_

"...whoa," Striker uttered with wide eyes.

_"Sleeping Beauty's in a foul mood. For shame. She says none for you dear prince, I'm tired today,"_ Ani continued. "_I'd rather sleep my whole life away than have you keep me from dreaming."_

_"'Cause I don't care for your fairytales. You're so worried about the maiden, though you know, she's only waiting on the next best thing."_

Everyone could only look at Ani in surprise as she kept singing.

_"Snow White is doing dishes again cause, what else can you do with seven itty-bitty men? Sends them to bed and she calls up a friend, says will you meet me at midnight?" _She went on the next verse. _"The tall blonde lets out a cry of despair says 'Woulda cut it myself if I knew men could climb hair!' I'll have to find another tower somewhere and keep away from the windows!"_

Then she returned to the chorus. _"'Cause I don't care for your fairytales. You're so worried about the maiden, though you know, she's only waiting on the next best thing."_

"...she's good," Milo whispered to Striker in awe, but the bear didn't even respond. He was hypnotized by her voice.

_"Once upon a time in a faraway kingdom; Man made up a story said that I should believe him. Go and tell your white knight that he's handsome in hindsight, but I don't want the next best thing! So I sing and hold my head down and I break these walls round me! Can't take no more of your fairytale love!"_ Then the chorus again.

_"I don't care for your fairytales. You're so worried about the maiden, though you know, she's only waiting on the next best thing."_

Jack was in absolute awe from hearing Ani's song, as were both Tails Doll and Whisker, neither of them being able to look away from her as she sang.

_"I don't care...I don't care..."_

_"Worry bout the maiden though you know, she's only waiting, spent the whole life being graded on the sanctity of patience and a dumb appreciation, but the story needs some mending and a better happy ending, cause I don't want the next best thing!"_

Striker felt goosebumps when Ani looked at him.

_"No, no, I don't want the next best thing."_ When they were sure that she was done singing, they applauded her wildly; except Striker who was just sort of frozen.

"Wow Ani, you're really good!" Milo commented.

"See?" Joy giggled again. "She's gotta pretty voice!"

"She's got an awesome voice!" Jack laughed as he applauded her. "You could join a band with that kinda voice!"

_"That was awesome!"_ Tails Doll cheered.

"...I guess I kinda am in a band," Ani admitted. "I sing a lot at the pub, so...yeah." She noticed that Striker was still staring at her. "Is...something wrong?"

Striker turned away hurriedly, totally red in the face. "Oh, n-nothing's wrong! Nothing at all!" He rubbed his arm uneasily. "...you've got a lovely voice."

"...thanks," Ani murmured, blushing once more.

Milo looked back and forth between them in disbelief. Was this what he thought it was? Jack, however, while noticing the two of them blushing, completely missed the obvious. "...hey, did you two catch a fever, all of a sudden?" he asked in an oblivious tone.

Both of them jumped. "Oh, n-no, it's just a sunburn for me!" Ani tried to make up an excuse. How could Jack still have so innocent a mind in his 20s?

"And uh...I just burned my face not too long ago..." Striker uttered.

Milo raised an eyebrow. Sure he did...

"Aw, I hope you feel better," cooed Joy sadly.

"It doesn't hurt, does it?" Jack uttered, as he tilted his head. "I think we got something for that kind of thing back on the ship... but we've got treasure to look for!"

"Oh, don't worry it doesn't hurt," Striker chuckled sheepishly. "I'll be fine."

"...alright, then..." Jack nodded, before pointing ahead of him. "Let's go find that prison cell, then!"

The group started walking again; with Milo remaining behind the group. That was when he felt that disturbance again, but when he looked around, he still didn't see anything. "...hm," He turned back around and kept walking, keeping his unease in the back of his mind where no one would see it.

"...he seems to know we're nearby..." once the group was far away enough out of earshot, Diablo's head barely poked out from the leaves.

"...he's a curious one..." Kiri hummed, peeking out from the same spot as well. "...we need to wait for Joy to become separated from him... preferably with only the bigger lion as company; he seems the least harmless of the bunch, aside from the plushie."

"Yes..." Diablo murmured. "...and how interesting they wish to look for Gerald's old prison cell."

"...really curious..." Kiri hummed. "...if Raider wasn't out of commission, he could have figured out why they would want to find that place..." she mused.

"…let's just keep following them…" Diablo murmured.

"Capt'n Whiskoh," Joy started; who was STILL sitting on his shoulder. "What's the Pofessoh like?"

"...th' Professor?" Whisker hummed, before laughing. "He`s incredible! E'en fer his age, he can still handle a wrench like he be still th' same as he be in youth! An' he`s really nice an' patient, t' boot!"

"Really?" Joy looked up at the sky. "I wish I could meet him."

"…yeah, I kinda wish the Professor was able to come," Milo admitted. "But I'm sure that he would really like you if he met you, Joy."

"Definitely!" Tails Doll chimed in, fluttering by Joy.

"...hey, Joy?" Glancing at the little ewe, Jack held out his harmonica to her. "Do you wanna try playing this?"

Joy smiled wide. "Really?" She tried to reach over and take it…

…then somebody else popped in and snatched it with laughter of mockery. It turned out to be the zebra from the group before, and he was holding the harmonica out of their reach.

"Not so hot without your harmonica, huh music boy?" he snickered.

Ah- HEY!" Seeing that, Jack tried getting the harmonica back. "Give it back! I got that from my mother!"

"Give it back, you meanie!" Tails Doll called, as he fluttered up to the zebra, quickly pummeling the top of his head... of course, with his arms made out of nothing but fluff, the zebra didn't feel a thing.

"That's not funny!" Ani said, stepping up to him threateningly. "Give it back or I'll make ya!"

"Says who?" the zebra snorted.

"Says us!" Striker retorted, pulling out his aluminum bat.

"Along wi' me!" Whisker snarled, stepping closer to the zebra, whilst placing Joy down next to Milo. "Now, give me first mate back his instrument." he growled, glaring at the Mobian.

"Just what can you pipsqueaks do to me that music boy can't?" the zebra chuckled. Then he pushed down Milo, who just fell onto the ground with an "OOF!"

"_Oh my,"_ Snap uttered, backing away.

"Hey, stop doing that, you bully!" Jack said, as he glared at the zebra.

"You think I'm gonna stop if you just tell me? What manners!" the zebra laughed in his face. "What are you, a Mama's boy? Go on Mama's boy! Make me!"

Gritting his teeth, Jack clenched his hands into fists, when...

"...fine."

Before the zebra would know it, Jack suddenly shot his hand out, grabbing hold of his throat, before slamming him into the ground with enough force to crack the ground underneath the zebra. "...cut it out." Jack growled, simply glaring at the zebra.

Joy gasped, while everyone else looked at Jack in disbelief. The zebra still clutched onto the harmonica, staring at Jack in dumbstruck awe.

"...are ya deaf?" Jack growled, raising his free hand up, as if he was preparing to punch the zebra. "I told you to cut it out... so you'd better cut it out."

Milo shook his head in horror while he watched this. _…no…_

"Ack-ah-alright!" the zebra put the harmonica on the ground and showed nothing else in his hands; growing afraid of how dark Jack had suddenly become.

"...good boy." Jack uttered, letting go of the zebra, before standing up, still looking down at him. "Now get lost."

The zebra hopped to his feet in fear and scurried away.

"…Jack…" Ani muttered, staring at him wide-eyed.

Jack merely watched the zebra run off, before he picked up the harmonica... and then, he looked at the others as if nothing had happened. "...what?"

_"...Jack..."_ Tails Doll uttered, slowly floating towards the lion. _"...what... was... that?"_

"...what was what?" Jack uttered, before he looked around. "...where'd that zebra go?"

"…Jack, you just totally slammed that guy into the ground!" Striker uttered, throwing his hands into the air. "Don't you know what you just did?"

"...huh?" Blinking, Jack glanced down at the ground, noticing the small crater where he had slammed the zebra down. "...eh? I did that?" he uttered in surprise.

"Dasn't tell us that ye`ve forgotten!" Whisker uttered in disbelief.

_"You did it just a few seconds ago_!" Tails Doll called.

Milo slowly got back up to his feet. "…you don't remember?" he murmured; his suspicions about this growing.

"...I really don't..." Jack uttered, as he held his head. "...weird... for some reason... I got a headache, now..."

Milo looked a little serious. For a minute, he thought he sensed…

"…Jack, you okay?" Striker asked.

"...yeah, I'm fine." Jack uttered. "Don't worry about me."

While none of the others could see anything, Milo then recognized a figure standing by Jack; an all too familiar figure...

Milo frowned when he saw him, but he had to pretend that he didn't see him for the sake of keeping the others from noticing. "…let's get going guys," he said, walking on as the others started following without question.

…_just what could he be doing here? _Milo wondered in thought.

_...what; can't a guy look after his nephew?_ a voice chuckled mockingly in Milo's head.

_The only person you ever cared about was Callous,_ Milo retorted in his head. _So don't give me that…_

_And Callous seems to have taken a liking to Joy. Can't have my family look weak around the little princess, can I?_

Milo was surprised to hear that. _…she has? How do you know this?_

_Oh, I've been keeping an eye on Jill ever since that day five years ago... you should've seen what Callous did some days ago to keep away people who wanted a piece of Joy. Classic, I tell ya..._

…_what do you mean?_ Milo questioned. _You know what's been happening around here?_

_At least about what's going on with Jill. We can have a discussion about this later, but for now... I'd keep an eye out for Joy, if I were you._

Milo's gaze sharpened as he looked on ahead. _If you say so…_

"Look!" Ani pointed out a tall wall covered in vines and moss, but when they took a closer look it was a wall of titanium steel. Striker went over and brushed some of it aside, revealing a logo with a big G on it.

"What's dat?" Joy asked, pointing to it.

"One of GUN's old bases," Striker said, while turning around and smiling at the group. "If we're lucky, it might be the prison base we're looking for."

"Awesome!" Jack said with a smile. "Let's see if that's the case, guys!"

_"Alright; let's do it!"_ Tails Doll called.

"Hey, there's a button here too!" Striker happened to notice it while looking along the wall, and he pounded it down. They could feel an obvious shake in the ground while a perfectly straight crack ran up the wall, and started to split apart. It became apparent that this was a large door opening. Not too long later, the shaking stopped and they all peered down a pitch dark cave of a hallway.

"…_whoa…"_ Snap uttered, taking another picture.

"...now this be interestin'..." Whisker mused.

"...come on; let's go inside!" Jack said, as he headed into the hallway before the others could even react.

_...remember; keep an eye on her._ Milo heard that voice utter.

Milo nodded, and followed Jack in, leading the others to do the same, and all of them finally disappeared inside.

* * *

_**The song "Fairytale" is by Sara Bareilles, and I do not own it. I DO own, however, that funny pirate song Striker and Milo were singing. NO STEALING!**_


	12. Chapter 12

_**5 Years Later – Chapter Twelve…**_

Sage, Hunter, Queen and King finally returned to the shelter, and while Queen and King split away to deal with other matters, Hunter and Sage headed downstairs to check on Metal and Jill, and the group of Whisker and the boys that were probably still down there.

But all they found was a written note on the door.

"_Whisker and the boys have Joy. Me and Metal headed to my shop."_

"_-Jill."_

Hunter raised his eyebrow at this. "…well, I guess she never really got to see her shop fixed up, did she?" he supposed.

"...she didn't." Sage hummed, looking completely neutral, though suppressing about fifty different senses that wanted to burst out into giggles. _Most curious..._ she thought.

Instead of growing curious about it like Sage, Hunter just brushed it off. "I'm going to see how Tasha's handling the injured patients," Hunter said, walking away. "Then I'll see if I can meet up with Captain Charmy or Wiper to see if they made any progress."

"...you do that." Sage nodded. "I need to start looking for Diablo and Kiri..."

Sage caught a growl from Hunter when she said that, disappearing around the corner. Just the mention of those two, now, didn't bode well with him. As he vanished around the corner, Sage let out a brief sigh. _...how they managed to collect all that info escapes me... and with Raider's mind shattered so much, I can't ask him how..._ she thought, closing her eyes.

"Oh, hello Sage. I didn't realize you were back already." Cal walked up past her in the hall, stopping by Sage. "So, what info did you and King find?"

Glancing back at Cal, Sage nodded. "...we found out a whole lot, to be honest." she muttered. "Though... it's pretty rough. Do you want me to tell you, or just transfer the information directly to you?"

"Can you handle a transfer?" Cal asked.

"Don't worry about me." Sage said with a slight smile. "...but are you sure that you want to know?"

"…if it's anything disturbing, I'm sure I can handle it after going through what Callous, Johnny and Deity had to offer…" Cal said. "Go ahead and do it."

"Alright; but don't say that I didn't warn you..." Sage hummed, as she closed her eyes.

Then, she opened them again, both of them glowing, as a stream of knowledge went from Sage's mind, directly into Cal's, chronicling everything they had learned from the data disk.

It took awhile, and it definitely had an impact on Cal with more information he gained. Funny he should mention those three…especially when some of that information was in there. Not only that, but the things they did to Jill… "…dear god," he uttered.

"...I know... horrible, isn't it?" Sage muttered, as her eyes returned to normal once she was finished. "...right now, we're going to try and find Diablo, and have him answer for what he's done."

"Just Diablo? Whatever happened to Raider?" Cal questioned.

Sage was silent, though Cal suddenly learned whatever became of Raider, since that was passed into his mind as well. "...don't tell anyone that I did it."

Cal's eyes were wide as melons, staring at her. "…damn…you can be cruel when you want to be," he murmured under his breath.

"Just be thankful that you didn't make me lose my temper when you were still with Metal five years ago." Sage chuckled, before she closed her eyes. "...still... he got what he deserved."

"…speaking of Metal," Cal murmured, "he and Jill have been gone for a few hours…I saw the note on the door but…would being at the shop really take that long?"

"...who knows..." Sage hummed with a light shrug.

"Should we go check on them?" Cal asked. "We don't want what happened to Jill 4 days ago happen again after all..." But then again, Metal was with her and if anything happened, Metal would be sure to stop it.

"...Metal will take care of her." Sage said with a nod. "Don't worry about that just yet. King's going to send word to an old friend to keep an eye on her, though... in the meantime, I'd like for you, and the others from GUN to help me scour the island for Diablo. You and Natal would definitely come in handy for this kind of task."

"Can do," Cal said with a nod.

"Alright." Sage nodded. "Just give the groups the lowdown, and meet me outside. Diablo's not getting away with what he did."

Cal nodded once more, and started walking away when he stopped again. "Oh, before I go, have you found anything else about the creature that everyone's talked about?" Cal wondered.

"...not yet." Sage muttered, as she shook her head. "I've asked someone to look into it, though. She should be able to find out something..."

Cal nodded one last time and left.

With another nod, Sage sighed, as she closed her eyes. _...wonder how King is doing..._ she thought.

Meanwhile, Hunter made it to the infirmary part of the facility, looking around at the injured tribal members. A good portion of them were asleep, which was good. They needed all the rest they could get. Hunter spotted King sitting by a window by himself, and another look around told him that Tasha wasn't here. Hunter wondered why, while he walked up to King. King didn't seem to notice Hunter, however, as he simply looked out of the window with a depressed look.

"What's up?" Hunter asked, folding his arms.

"...nothin'..." King muttered, before sighing.

"C'mon King," Hunter said. "You can be only these things in this situation." He held up one finger, "One, you're so angry that you still want to pound the snot out of Diablo and Raider," he held up another finger, "or Two, you're trying to cheer up the wounded with jokes and stories," and he folded his arms again. "So being glum is not one of those options. What's wrong?"

Rubbing the back of his neck, King sighed. "...it's about Tasha." he muttered.

_When ISN'T it about Tasha?_ Hunter thought, keeping that opinion to himself. "What's going on with Tasha?"

"...she..." King muttered, before rubbing her temples. "...she went back to see how her father and the others are doing, but... I doubt that she'll come back."

"...why do you say that?" Hunter murmured.

"...I think I really screwed up this time, Hunter..." King muttered. "I was so pissed off at what Diablo had done... learning about Jill's past, and about our pasts, too... I really wanted to smash his face in... and Raider's... and even that little brat Kiri..."

"...but Tasha... doesn't think that resorting to violence is the right thing to do..."

"...hm," Hunter waited for him to continue.

"...she yelled at me; telling me that Jill had been through all that crap, without flying into a blind rage over it... but the way she worded it... viciously rip them to shreds..." Then, King closed his eyes. "...goddamn it all... I haven't felt this conflicted since Desperado died..."

Hunter's attention was drawn when King compared this to Desperado's death. How in the world could that compare to what they went through? Diablo, Raidier and Kiri were small time crooks doing this to one person; what he, King, and the gang went through years ago, they almost had no choice but to be subjected to the horrors that GUN put them through. None of them even knew their real birth parents... "...King, does Tasha even know what we went through?" Hunter answered him.

"...no." King muttered. "She's never asked, and... I'm not even sure if I should tell her..."

"Well, whether or not you told her," Hunter said, "We've had the same experiences as Jill...and we didn't rip GUN to shreds for what they did to us. We killed others, yes...but back then, we were forced to. I'm not saying Tasha lacks perspective, but...she's been on an island her whole life."

King grew silent, as he just looked out of the window. "...I heard her talk to her father... he told her to stay away from me; because of both my position and powers..." With another sigh, a brief crackle of electricity pulsed through his left arm. "...and with her yelling at me like that..."

Hunter became silent this time, trying to think of what to say. He knew that he might have to dig into his own experiences to give helpful advice. "...do you love Tasha, King?" Hunter asked.

King gritted his teeth, slowly clenching his hands together. "...yeah." he nodded.

Hunter looked out the window too. "...well I loved Melody, too," he began. "Her own life was in danger if she had anything to do with me, and I risked my own life with GUN to sneak out to her...there were so many bad reasons for us to be together..." Then he closed his eyes. "...but I didn't care."

Blinking, King glanced at Hunter. "...you..."

"...I didn't care," Hunter told him, "WE didn't care..." He looked at King again. "...because Melody and I knew that love was never wrong. Those who say otherwise are either a fool who's never known what love was like...or somebody that's lost it, and is afraid to lose it again."

Blinking, King could only look at the wolf in awe. "...Hunter..." he uttered.

"...I think Tasha loves you back, because she's disobeyed her father more than once to be with you," Hunter said.

Blinking, King nodded, as he looked down at the floor. "...yeah... maybe you're right..."

"She probably yelled because she was scared and confused, going through problems she hasn't faced before," Hunter continued, "...but she's going to come back, because she needs you to help her through it; your experience, your support...and your love."

After a while, King nodded, as he stood up, lightly jabbing Hunter's shoulder. "...thanks, Midnight." he chuckled.

"Anything to keep you from moping around, Twilight," Hunter answered back. "Seriously...it's kind of a drag." Translated loosely, he only meant that he was happy to help.

Chuckling, King patted Hunter's shoulder. "Thanks again." he nodded, before he began walking off. "I've got a letter to write. If you'll excuse me..."

While King left, Hunter looked back out the window. "Like the old saying goes..." he murmured under his breath. "It's better to have loved and lost then never to have loved at all...right Melody?"

* * *

"Mmmh..." Chuckling, Hex entered a small room, where she walked up to someone chained to the wall there. "...how are we doing, my frightened pet?" she chuckled, placing a hand on her prisoner's cheek.

He jolted away from her in utter fear. "G-get away from me!" Raider pleaded.

"Mmmh... why would I do that?" Hex chuckled, leaning in close to Raider, whispering in his ear. "After all, you are my pet from now on..."

Raider shuddered, screaming again.

Chuckling, Hex began slowly nibbling at Raider's ear. "...doesn't this excite you?" she chuckled mocklngly.

Raider tried to pull his head away, horrified at what she was doing.

"...Uh, Madame?" Appearing behind the two was a Siamese cat, while usually quite stoic, was a bit bewildered by what Hex was doing to this man. He knew that some of her victims were afraid at first, but they grew to strangely like what she did. With this one, he was screaming 24/7.

With a slight frown, Hex pulled away from Raider, before looking at the cat. "...mmmh... did you have to disturb me now? What is it... pardon me, but I seem to have forgotten your name. What was it, again?"

"Just Koopman will do, Madame," answered the cat with a droll.

"...Koopman... I'll keep that in mind." Hex hummed, casually tipping one of her tentacles against Koopman's chin. "So, what is it?"

"I have been informed that there seems to be unusual activity by the mountains concerning Spiel," Koopman answered, paying no heed to the tentacle under his chin. "There are also some visitors here; a group that call themselves the Clubhouse Pirates."

"...pirates?" Hex hummed, before chuckling. "My, my, that does sound interesting. Tell me; have they tried setting off another disaster, like that creature did yesterday?"

"They seem to be nothing else but a bunch of adolecences acting like children," Koopman answered. "But Ani and Joy are accompanying them, so it's implied that they may be old friends."

"...mmmh... interesting." Hex hummed. "...did you happen to get any pictures of them? Some of them could become worthy additions to my collection..."

"Just this one Madame," he answered, holding out a photo. When Hex took a hold of it, her eyes fell upon the sight of a strapping young black bear; Striker.

"...mmmh... now he is quite a catch." Hex chuckled. "Remind me to seek this little cub out once I'm done playing with my pet." she said, glancing back at Raider. "...oh, that's right; you said something about Spiel, didn't you, Koopman?"

"Yes Madame," Koopman responded. "It seems he's taken refuge at the base of the mountains and is not letting anyone through to climb it."

"...mmmh... he must be hiding something there..." Hex hummed, before chuckling. "Unfortunately, him and his lackey Krieg know to resist my charms... if we want to find out what he's hiding, we'll need to plan accordingly."

"Very well Madame," Koopman responded.

"...now, please leave us." Hex hummed, before she wrapped two tentacles around Raider. "Go and keep an eye on those pirates... I do wonder if they have anyone else I'd be interested in..." she chuckled.

"...very well Madame," Koopman answered, turning and leaving.

"W-wait!" Raider yelped. "You gotta help me outta here, man!" Koopman only seemed to ignore him as he left. His pleas fell on deaf ears. "DON'T LEAVE ME ALONE WITH HER!" Raider screamed.

"Oh, don't be so modest, Raider." Hex chuckled, the rest of her tentacles wrapping around the ox. "We have only just begun..."

Raider screamed again.

* * *

"Now, which way?" The group was caught at a fork in the hall, looking between their options with uncertainty. Striker was just trying to think of what to do.

"...we could split up!" Jack suggested. "We'll cover more ground like that!"

_"But is that gonna be safe?" _Tails Doll inquired, tilting his head.

Milo looked back at Joy. Yeah, was it going to be safe, especially when this disturbing sense he kept getting was getting worse? "...I'm with Tails Doll on this," Milo said. "We could get lost more easily if we split up.

"Then why not have each of the machines go with the groups? I could have Tails Doll with me, and Snap could go with Joy and Jack, while Whisker goes off with Striker and you?" Ani suggested to Milo. "That way, the bots can easily track where the other groups are."

"Aye, that sounds like a good plan!" Whisker nodded, as he folded his arms.

_"...well, if you say so."_ Tails Doll nodded.

"Alright, this is gonna be awesome!" Jack cheered, before looking at Snap and Joy. "Think of what we could find, guys! This is too exciting!"

_...looks like I'll have to keep an eye out for Joy, instead._ the voice in Milo's head chuckled. _Can't leave my nephew outta sight, either._

Joy was carefully plucked off of Whisker's shoulder and placed on the ground, taking Jack's hand with a smile. "M-hm! It'll be losta fun!" she said.

Milo heaved a sigh. _If anything happens, I'm sure you'll just plow the troublemaker into the ground again._ Sarcasm was sure a rarity for Milo...

"Alright, me, Milo and Whisker will go this way," Striker said with a point to one way. "Ani and Tails Doll, you go that way," a point in another direction, "and Snap, Jack and Joy can take that way," a point in the last direction.

"Let's go!" Jack cheered, leading Snap and Joy down the way they would go. "This is just gonna be too cool!"

_"Let's go, Ani!"_ Tails Doll called, planting himself on Ani's head. _"Onward!"_

"Alright, mateys, let`s be off!" Whisker called, giving the group a nod. Milo and Whisker turned to their hall, while Striker hesitated with a glance toward Ani.

"Be careful," he said.

Ani smirked. "You forgot who I was, right? The missy with the telekinesis?"

Striker chuckled. "Just saying it is all." And he turned to walk down his own hallway after Whisker and Milo.

Ani smiled a bit, taking the path down her own hallway with Tails Doll still sitting on her head.

Once the groups were gone and out of sight, a certain duo came out of hiding to confront this same fork, looking to the hall that Jack, Joy and Snap went down. "Perfect chance, don't you think Kiri?" Diablo murmured.

"...definitely the perfect chance." Kiri giggled. "I'd like to see that lion dangle with a knife exposing his innards..."

"Then let's go," Diablo said, walking ahead into that hall with her following.

Meanwhile...

"So Striker," Milo began. "What was that little show about earlier?"

Striker was clueless about what he was talking about, "What show?"

"Oh, you know...you just so happened to burn your face awhile back..."

Striker quickly turned away to hide the fact that he was turning red again. Had Milo really noticed that?

"An' what be ye two whisperin' about?" Whisker hummed, as he glanced back at Striker and Milo. "Somethin' ye`d like t' tell yer captain?"

"Just wondering why Striker was acting weird," Milo said, ignoring the glare he got from Striker.

"Ah, I be seein'..." Whisker nodded thoughtfully. "...tho 'tis curious; he didna act like that before we showed up on th' isle..."

"...I think he started acting weird when he saw Ani again," Milo chuckled.

"That's not true!" Striker barked defensively.

"Be ye sure about that?" Whisker mused.

"I..." Striker's mind went totally blank, trying to think of excuses. Milo was right though...this all really started went Ani and he first made eye contact. "...what do you think it means?" he finally asked.

"Aye... I be havin' me suspicions..." Whisker mused, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

"...what?" Striker asked.

"...well, why dasn't ye ask Ani about 't later? From th' looks o' things, she`s been actin' strangely as well when ye two saw each other." Whisker noted with a chuckle.

"...true," Striker murmured, looking back up ahead to where they were walking. Milo chuckled to himself again, looking at him. He could tell Striker was just so unsure, and yet, so oblivious to what chemistry was cooking up between the two of them.

Ani wasn't clueless though. She knew very well what was going on.

She hummed a merry tune as she and Tails Doll wandered down their hallway.

_"...hey, Ani?"_ Tails Doll hummed, as he fluttered around her head. _"You two really didn't get a sunburn, did you?"_

"...I guess we didn't," Ani muttered admittedly.

_"I knew it."_ Tails Doll nodded. "_So, what is it? Come on, you can tell me, Ani!"_

"Weeeeell..." Ani thought of a way to put it. "I guess it's like...Brick and Jill in a way, a long time ago."

Hearing that, Tails Doll perked up. _"...you mean... that you and Striker are..."_

"...at least, that's kinda how I feel about Striker," Ani mumbled, shuffling her feet and blushing a bit. "...I don't really know how Striker feels though..."

_"...do you think you should ask him about it?"_ Tails Doll hummed, tilting his head.

"...yeah, I think I will ask him about it," Ani said.

_"Man... what do you think you'll do if he feels the same way, Ani?"_ Tails Doll hummed curiously.

Ani smiled. "I don't know, but if it happens, then I guess me and Striker will find out."

"Wow, this place is huge!" Joy uttered in amazement, looking all over the place while she walked at Jack's side, holding his hand.

"It sure is!" Jack laughed, as he looked around him. "Man, I hope we manage to find Gerald's cell. That would be awesome!"

_"Yes. I'm quite curious about these 'equations' written on the walls that Striker mentioned,"_ Snap added, taking one or two pictures of his surroundings. Just look at what they were passing by! Most of it was government architecture of titanium base, but there were one or two robots lying around that had been offline for years. This was picture worthy for sure!

"...man... with that photo ability of yours, we could take the equations with us back to the Professor! That would be some homecoming present, huh?" Jack laughed.

Snap smiled. _"That's not a bad idea, Jack."_

"First we gotsa find it!" Joy reminded.

"Right!" Jack nodded, as he looked around with a smile. "Where could it be, though...?"

Joy turned her head forward, and for a minute she was quiet.

She saw a giant pair of blue, robot legs stomp by. There was somebody in the seat making those robot legs move, and it looked like...a yellow kitsune with two tails. Holding fast to the wing was a pink hedgehog in a red dress. "...he should be around here somewhere, Amy..." the fox muttered, as he turned the machine from side to side, as if it was looking out for incoming attackers.

"...I really hope so," this Amy muttered uneasily,

_...the Pofessoh? _Joy thought, looking at that fox.

"...but with Eggman in here, we should hurry up." Tails muttered, as the machine began walking down the hall. "As soon as you've gotten Sonic out of his cell, we need to get back to the mainland!"

Soon that machine was gone, and Joy tugged on Jack's hand. "Let's go this way!" she insisted, pointing to where she saw that giant machine go to.

Jack blinked, before nodding. "Sure; let's go that way! Snap, let's go!" he laughed, going down the way Joy pointed out.

_"Coming!" _Snap called, hurriedly following them.

Then Jack and Joy stopped.

They peered down a hall of jail cells. They were so close! Jack didn't even know how close they were, because he couldn't see what Joy saw. Joy saw that pink hedgehog standing at one of the cells, smiling and talking to someone.

When what she saw wasn't there anymore, she released Jack's hand and walked down that way, with Jack and eventually Snap following her.

One of the jail cells were opened; the door of jail bars risen above to allow entrance. It was just an empty room once, but now this place was like a secret forest grove. Vines and moss thrived on the brittle walls, and in some places, writing could be spotted. She never understood what this writing was...but she recognized some of them as numbers. On the ground, some weeds had sneaked through the concrete floor, so there were patches of soft green on the ground. Even a few toadstools made their home here. The only light offered was through a crack in the corner of the ceiling. A variety of bugs fluttered around here, but mostly dragonflies and butterflies of many different colors.

"...whoa..." Jack uttered. "...this... is it..." he said, before suddenly smiling widely. "...we did it! We found the cell! This has got to be the cell!" he laughed, before looking at Snap. "We need pictures of this room, right now!"

Snap took a picture of the overall scene immediately. _"Wow, so this is Professor Gerald's cell,"_ Snap murmured, trying to brush away the moss to read the writing.

Joy was preoccupied with observing the butterflies.

One particular butterfly stood out. It had frosty white wings, and it fluttered over to Joy's gentle hands, making her giggle at its touch. It wasn't afraid of her like all the other butterflies minding their own business; this one almost seemed like it was a good friend to her.

Jack happened to notice this, as he simply looked down at Joy and the small butterfly.

_"Amazing..."_ Snap murmured, moving to various places of the walls and taking more pictures.

The butterfly nestled onto Joy's shoulder and she smiled to it. Then she directed a smile at Jack.

Jack smiled back. "I think it likes you." he said, motioning towards the butterfly with his head.

"Really?" Joy asked, looking back at the butterfly on her shoulder again.

"Yeah; really." Jack nodded, before he sat down. "...how long do you think it's been here?"

"Dunno," Joy answered. Then suddenly, the butterfly picked itself up and fluttered away. "Butterfwy!" Joy called. "Where are you going?" Joy watched it flutter over and ground, and she tried to go over to it.

Then a foot came out of nowhere and squashed it flat.

With a gasp, Joy looked up at the meanie who would do such a thing...and backed away slowly.

"Good job finding Gerald's prison cell," spoke a malevolent leopard, shrouded mostly in the dark.

"Hn?" Jack had no idea who that was, but an inner voice, along with this leopard suddenly crushing the butterfly, quickly led to him grabbing hold of Joy protectively. "Who are you?"

"...so you got another new friend, Joy..." a female voice giggled, as a small, mischievous owl stood by the leopard's side. "...what's his name?"

Snap recognized that voice and whirled around. _"...K-Kiri?"_ he uttered fearfully.

"Oh... and you have your robot friend with you..." Kiri giggled, as she folded her arms. "...where's Metal?"

Gritting his teeth, Jack began backing away from the two, still holding Joy close to him. "Answer me! Who are you?" he repeated.

The leopard walked out of the dark, showing the intimidating gash across his face. "My name is Diablo," he spoke; making Joy shiver at the sound of that name.

Gritting his teeth, Jack simply glared at the leopard. "...what do you want?" he uttered, without letting go of Joy.

"Why...we want to play with Joy," Diablo replied, stepping closer menacingly.

"...no...pwease..." Joy pleaded with only a whisper, holding fast to Jack.

"It won't hurt... we promise..." Kiri giggled, as she stepped towards them as well.

"...I don't think she should play with you two; you don't seem nice!" Jack said, as he kept on moving away from the two of them, not letting go of Joy. "Snap, tell them that we don't wanna play with them!"

_"Uh...um..."_ Snap might be unreliable, because he was pretty afraid of Diablo and Kiri right now. What changed his mind though, was the fact that they wanted to 'play' with Joy, and she didn't look too happy to see them; in fact, she was shaking violently in Jack's arms, Snap could see. _"...stop right there,"_ he said bravely, stepping in between Jack and Joy, and Diablo and Kiri.

Seeing Snap step in like that, Jack smiled, as he made sure not to let Joy leave his sights.

"...don't be a spoilsport." Kiri hummed.

_"...I heard about the things you did," _Snap uttered shakily, bringing up the arm cannon, aiming at them. _"...you're not going to lay a finger on Joy."_

"What makes you think we'll do anything bad to her?" Diablo asked, undaunted by the cannon while he continued to approach the robot.

"...you guys seem like nasty people." Jack replied, as he held Joy even tighter. "And that's usually a bad thing!"

"...you talk too much." Kiri spat, before she looked up at Diablo. "I don't want to play with the robot, Big Brother... I wanna play with Joy and the lion."

"So be it."

_"You s-stay away!" _Snap unleashed the cannon's power right at him, but when he looked again, Diablo was gone. _"...huh?"_ And down from above, Diablo jabbed a knife into Snap's helm, which dug pretty deep into his central CPU. Electricity sparked, and his limbs twitched erratically.

"SNAP!" Jack cried at the sight of this.

"...robots don't bleed..." Kiri muttered, as she looked at Jack and Joy with a scowl. "...they're boring."

Once Snap's shaking stopped, the limbs fell from place, and finally the torso clunked to the ground, lifelessly. Diablo yanked the knife out of its place in Snap's head, and looked at Jack and Joy with a devious grin. "Now..." he stepped closer to them, making Joy clutch to Jack for dear life.

Jack, too, was absolutely in panic. _...Snap..._ he thought, as he could only look at the fallen robot.

"...don't kill them, Big Brother." Kiri giggled. "I want that privilege..."

His breath growing rapid, Jack looked from Diablo to Kiri multiple times. _...these guys... they're like Callous and Johnny..._

_...hey, is that a way to remember your uncle by?_

Before anyone could react to it, Jack suddenly aimed a fierce kick at Diablo's stomach, sending the leopard rocketing out of the cell, without even letting go of Joy. After hitting the wall, Diablo slowly got back up, growling. He didn't anticipate him doing that, and he SHOULD have, after watching what he did to Will's lackey earlier. He questioned how he could do that, though...

...but instead of standing there like a dufus, he brought up the knife again. "Come here, boy!" he said, running to slice Jack.

However, still clutching onto Joy, Jack simply stepped aside from the slice, before lifting his leg into the air. "...what sorta amateur are you, anyway?" Jack said in a mocking tone, before slamming his leg down onto Diablo.

Kiri still looked at Jack with a look of surprise, but that look slowly changed into a look of excitement. _...this feeling..._ she thought, before giggling.

Diablo got back up again. That kick ripped open his gash again, and blood trickled down his face. Taking a lick of his own blood horrified Joy. "Just what are you anyway?" he grumbled at Jack.

Jack, however, simply glared at Diablo, without letting go of Joy. "...I'm a Leoniel." he uttered, raising his leg again. "Now get lost." he added, before aiming yet another kick at Diablo, intending to send him flying out of the cell once more. Diablo was smart this time, and he ducked beneath Jack's kick. The recovery from the kick for Jack was long enough for Diablo to get a cut at Jack on his arm. However, the cut didn't even seem to phase Jack, as he quickly spun around, aiming a backwards kick right at Diablo's face. Diablo's face plunged into the wall, and he lay limp for a moment.

Joy looked at Diablo in fear. Then she looked at Kiri, even more frightened. As it turned out, Kiri was smiling a smile wider than ever before, simply looking at Jack.

With a scoff, Jack merely looked at Diablo. "...are you gonna leave, now?" he uttered.

Joy just held Jack tighter, while her eyes were locked on Kiri. "...we gotsa go...Jack," she whispered.

"...they can leave first." Jack uttered. "I'm not leaving without Snap."

Diablo pressed a hand to the wall and got back up, glaring daggers at Jack. Then he noticed something off.

The butterfly he swore he crushed propped its wings back up, and took to the air, fluttering to Joy again. Joy was relieved to see that this butterfly was still alive, and a ray of a smile appeared in this dark moment. Kiri blinked, as she looked at the butterfly.

"...now... are you two gonna leave?" Jack uttered again.

Diablo's ears perked over. He heard the sound of running feet, and it was heading their direction. "...we'll be back," Diablo murmured, coming over to Kiri and taking her hand. "C'mon."

Nodding, Kiri waved at Jack before Diablo took her away. "...see you around." she said with a giggle.

When the two were gone, Jack let out a sigh of relief, before looking down at Joy. "...are you alright?" he asked in a slightly scared tone.

"...M-hm..." Joy nodded sadly, and then she looked over at Snap. Jack could see tears coming to the 3 year old's eyes. "Smap..." she uttered.

With a slight frown, Jack knelt by Snap. "...I... think Striker can fix him..." he uttered, hoping to cheer Joy up even just a bit. Now they heard the running feet too, and shortly after they noticed it a group of silhouettes came out of the shadows.

"...Oh no!" Striker yelped, running right over to Snap. "Snap!"

"No wonder Whisker and Tails Doll suddenly felt Snap go offline!" Milo said.

"How did that happen?" Whisker uttered, as he looked down at the fallen robot, before looking at Jack and Joy.

"...two people wanted to take Joy away..." Jack uttered. "Snap tried stopping them, but..."

_"...wait... two people?"_ Tails Doll uttered. _"...don't tell me..."_

"...Kiri...and Diabwo," Joy answered, looking pretty much ready to cry as she sniffled and wiped her eyes.

Ani's eyes sharpened sternly. "...those two."

"...what's wrong, Ani?" Striker asked, noticing her grow unusually serious. "And who's...Kiri and Diablo?"

"...bad news," Ani answered back, coming over and picking up Snap's torso. "I'll tell you guys about it when we get back. We have to go now."

Milo looked at Snap while the thoughts of what he sensed from before crossed his mind. Could this Kiri and this Diablo be the source of what he sensed? Had they followed them, waiting until they separated to get their hands on Joy? He watched Striker pick up a leg, and then the other. Milo came over and picked up the arm cannon, and Joy took Snap's other arm, holding it as tears rolled down her face. "Is Smap gonna be okay?" she asked, crying.

"...don't worry Joy, everything's going to be okay," Milo assured her with a hand to her shoulder. That's when he noticed Joy's little butterfly friend.

Seeing him notice that, Jack smiled, before he picked up Snap's head.

_...hey, some thanks would be nice. _Milo heard that same voice mutter in his head.

Milo frowned. _Well, sorry if I didn't know,_ he replied. _...but yes, I suppose we owe you thanks for protecting Joy. I'm sure Callous would have appreciated that..._

_Hell, I know she'd appreciate it. _the voice hummed. _Just be thankful that Jack was with her; otherwise, she'd be long gone._

_Right..._ "C'mon guys. The sooner we leave, the sooner we get back," Milo said aloud.

* * *

Evening finally rolled around the island; but just barely when the sky was a fading blue, right after sunset.

Jill felt a little weaker than she was earlier when she and Metal went to her shop; no doubt exhausted from their 'activities' from today. A smile remained on her face though as Metal helped her walk out of the shop and into the streets, aiming to head back to the sheltered facility where everyone else was.

"...you're alright?" Metal inquired, as he glanced down at Jill whilst helping her along the street.

Jill nodded. "...just tired," she murmured.

"...right..." Metal nodded, before smiling. "...a good night's sleep should make things better, shouldn't it?"

"...yeah," Jill answered, reflecting the smile back to him.

With a slight chuckle, Metal briefly stroked Jill's cheek, before looking back ahead of them. Jill blushed when he stroked her cheek, and she, too, looked forward to where they were going. It didn't take very long to get to the building, but going down the stairs was a bit of a challenge for her. Finally, they reached the floor the room was on, and they were confronted by Hunter.

"Oh, there you two are," Hunter said.

"...hello, Hunter." Metal said with a brief nod.

"I was wondering when you would be getting back," Hunter continued. "What took you guys?"

Jill averted her eyes nervously. "Well...you know. I wanted to get a good look at my shop..." Was Hunter going to accuse them of something going on between them?

The accusation never came, thankfully. Hunter just nodded. "Yeah, I guess you haven't seen your shop in awhile." Jill let out a secret sigh of relief. "Anyhow, Whisker, Ani and the boys have yet to come back. I'm just standing around keeping an eye out, since teams Chaotix and Alpha followed Sage to track down Diablo and Kiri."

Jill blinked when she heard that. "...what for?"

Hunter suddenly remembered Sage telling him that Jill didn't remember the 3 days past.

"...I'm sure she has her reasons for doing so." Metal shrugged, deciding to play himself off as clueless; anything to divert Jill's attention from the topic.

Jill looked at Metal, and then back at Hunter questionably. Hunter ignored her look. "You might want to head to your room," Hunter said. "You still need your rest after all. If I see Ani and the boys, I'll direct them in your direction."

"...I'll take her there." Metal nodded, as he began leading Jill down the hall. "Come along, now..."

"...right," Jill went along with Metal, shooting once glance at Hunter who still refused to look back at her. That sure was strange... Jill started wondering if this concerned the things she couldn't remember, but at last she let it go finally. No use thinking about it if she wasn't going to get answers at the moment.

Hunter headed back upstairs to the entrance so he could carry out what he said he would; keep an eye out for friendlies, or enemies.

Half an hour or so later when the sky was slightly darker, Hunter's eyes caught the sight of an incoming group. The moon being about half-empty at this point, there was still light giving off of it. That same light reflected off two of the figures running this direction, revealing them at least. Hunter was relieved to see them coming back, that is, until he saw the reason they were running.

"Dad!" Ani was the first getting to him, catching her breath. The others finally got there, and they too huffed.

Hunter looked at the parts of Snap in each of their hands in questioning. "What happened?"

"It was-" Ani still had to catch her breath, taking a moment to do so, "-It was Diablo and Kiri."

Hunter's eyes widened.

"...what was that?" At that point, King, Miser and Ripper walked up behind Hunter, each of them seeing all of Snap's parts in the group's hands. "...did they..."

"...they wanted to take Joy away..." Jack uttered, as he looked down at Snap's head. "...Snap tried stopping them, but..."

"...kekeke! We can't just stand here; we need to get him repaired!" Ripper chimed in.

"And we need to get inside; they could have followed you here." Miser muttered, letting the group in. "Hurry; I'll take over watch for now." she said.

"...right," Hunter went ahead and entered with the rest of them, shutting the door behind them all. The group brought Snap to the nearest table they could find, which was the one in the facility kitchen, and set all of his parts down onto it.

"Ani, I need you to take Joy to her mother," he instructed.

"Right," Ani took Joy's hand... and then she, too, finally noticed the butterfly companion Joy had somehow gained. _What the...?_ But Ani pushed inquiries aside and pulled Joy off, who was still crying her little heart out.

"Pwease say that Smap is gonna be okay," Joy sobbed.

Ani's heart swelled seeing such a sweet girl crying like that. "I'm sure that Striker will fix Snap all better, Joy," Ani assured. "Just wait and see...Snap will be on his feet again."

When Hunter watched his own daughter leave with Joy out the room, he sighed, feeling the same heavy heart as Ani did. "...what happened?" he finally asked the boys, looking upon the lifeless Snap.

"...I told you; Diablo and Kiri were planning on taking Joy away." Jack muttered.

"You see, we went exploring, and we found this old building..." Tails Doll began. "...and we came to a fork in the road, so we split up; Jack, Joy and Snap went down one path, me and Ani went down another, and Striker, Milo and Whisker went down a third..."

"...they must have followed you," Hunter said, something that Milo certainly reacted to. "But what were you all doing, exploring around like that?"

"...we were trying to find Professor Gerald's prison cell," Striker answered.

"Didn't Ani tell you guys about what's going on?"

Milo shook his head. "She didn't go into very deep details about anything like that. All we were told was that the island was blown up."

"Yeah, and Rudy said that some creepy stuff was going on, but that was it," Striker added.

Hunter sighed again, but in frustration at the fact that Ani forgot to warn them about what was going on. Could be that she forgot while swooning over Striker; a thought that placed an instantenous and momentary smile on his face. Then he frowned again to focus back on the matter. "There are dangerous soldiers on this island boys," Hunter said, "and Diablo and Kiri are not the only ones."

"...not the only ones?" Jack uttered.

"There's three others, and I doubt that you'd like any of them." King muttered. "They're called Raider, an ox, Hex, an octopus, and Spiel, a pig. If you see them, steer clear."

"...ain't 't kind o' a bad idee t' be havin' dangerous soldiers like that on th' isle?" Whisker mused, as he looked at King.

"That's something you just have to expect..." King muttered, before folding his arms. "...but lately, they've been more active than they've used to..."

"...and all of it started when Diablo decided to pull off the damn shenanigans on harassing Jill and Joy," Hunter threw in.

"...Jill too?" Milo squeaked.

Hunter looked at the boys solemnly. "He tried to burn down her shop, tried to impale a knife into Joy..." then he looked away in shame. "...and you don't even want to know what else Jill went through."

"You mean...why she looks all severely beaten and torn up?" Milo croaked, "...and why she's so unhealthily skinny?"

"...trust me... you guys don't want to know." King muttered.

"...them bastards!" Whisker snapped, quickly pounding his fists against each other. "Let me at them, an' I`ll keelhaul them!"

"Keke, hang on! You can't underestimate Diablo like that, Whisker!" Ripper quickly said, trying to calm down the pirate robot.

"...but she doesn't even look like she went through anything horrible," Milo said. "I don't get it...she looks perfectly happy to me, like-"

"-she never even went through the stuff," Hunter finished. "Yeah, I know. Sage discovered that her memories of the 3 days she was missing were erased."

"...erased memories?" Jack uttered, tilting his head. "How does that work?"

"Sage would probably have filled you in..." King muttered, as he rubbed the back of his neck. "...but in any case, I don't want any of you guys to talk about that to Jill. After what she's been through..."

Striker looked at King with a genuine look. Then he nodded. "We promise not to say anything."

"...good." King muttered, before sighing. "...hopefully, this whole thing can be resolved soon..."

"...keke... did you deliver that letter, yet?" Ripper hummed, as he glanced at the tiger.

"I had Flamenco send it earlier today; hopefully, he should get it soon." King nodded.

"...letter?" Jack blinked, as he looked at King. "Who did you send a letter to?"

"Old friend of ours who's gonna keep a watchful eye on Jill and Joy," Hunter said, smiling. "I think you'd know him. He's a certain bounty hunter we met awhile back."

All of the boys' eyes lit up. "You mean..." Striker uttered eagerly.

"With any luck, he should be here in the morning." King mused, as he yawned, before walking out of the room. "For now, I think you guys need to fix up Snap, before you hit the sack."

"...right!" Nodding, Jack glanced at Striker. "We're gonna fix him up, right?"

"Right," Striker said, turning to examine Snap. "The damage definitely isn't permanent. I just have to see how bad it really is."

"It shouldn't take too long..." Jack hummed, as he glanced at Snap's head. "...he only attacked the head, so..."

"And it doesn't look like that stab was too deep," Striker murmured, having gotten a good enough look at it. "Some memories might be damaged, but other than that, he's gonna be okay."

* * *

Night fell on the island after a while, and even though some remained awake, most of the island's inhabitants were heading for bed.

One of those were King, who walked towards his bed with a slight yawn. _...tomorrow's gonna be a long day... _he thought, before he sat down on his bed, letting out a brief sigh. All of a sudden, there was a small tap on his bedroom window. Blinking, King turned to look at the window. Outside was much too dark to see what was caused the tap... and in curiousness, he opened it. "...who's there?" he uttered.

"...King..." gently whispered a voice. It was still a little too dark to tell, and the voice was a little quiet, but King thought he heard...

"...Tasha...?" King uttered in surprise.

"...may I climb in?" she asked. It turned out there was a trail of vines leading up to King's window, which Tasha had effortlessly climbed.

"...um... sure." King nodded, stepping back a bit so Tasha wouldn't be obstructed when she entered.

Tasha slipped in quietly and smoothly, closing the window right afterward. She didn't turn to face King yet. "...I..."

"...Tasha... is something on your mind?" King uttered, as he looked at Tasha with a concerned look. "If there is, then..."

"...about what I said today," Tasha murmured, still not facing him. "...I didn't mean to be so forward."

"...Tasha..." Blinking, King slowly approached her. "...don't worry about that; you just said what you wanted to say, right?" he said, stopping right in front of her.

"...no, I...I was talking out of line." Tasha insisted, her shoulders shaking a bit. "...I didn't even know what you went through..."

King blinked, as he tilted his head. "...what I... went through..." he uttered, before something clicked in his mind. "...you mean that..."

Tasha was silent, her head falling a little lower. "...Sage showed me something that happened to you and your friends a long time ago..." she mumbled. "...when...others died...like Bliss and Desperado..."

King blinked, as he closed his eyes. "...I see... she showed you that, huh..." he sighed, before looking down at Tasha.

"...so you see..." she uttered. "...I didn't know what I was talking about...it's just that...what my father told me when you left..."

"...Tasha..." King placed his hands on Tasha's shoulders, simply looking down at her.

Tasha finally looked up at King, trying to hide how hurt she was. "...Twilight...I'm so sorry."

"...Tasha..." At that point, King suddenly hugged Tasha, holding her close to him. "...you don't... need to apologize... you couldn't have known about it... right?"

Tasha buried her face in his shoulder, holding him extra tighter. "...my father wants me to stay away from you," she muffled in his shoulder. "...but I can't stay away. I feel scared, and bewildered...and all I know is that I want to be here...with you."

King was silent, as he closed his eyes. "...a friend of mine had the same problem; forbidden from going to see the one he loved..." Then, he pulled a bit away, so he could look into Tasha's eyes. "...but he still saw her, in spite of the danger... and even if your father curses me for it, I won't stop seeing you, either... because I love you, Tasha."

Her heart jumped, and she felt so weak when she heard that. "Twilight..." her hands reached to touch his furry cheeks, looking right back into his eyes. "...I love you too."

* * *

***If you do not wish to read the rather mature content that follows this, I would suggest you skip ahead...**

**

* * *

**Smiling, King placed a hand on Tasha's cheek as well. Tasha smiled back at him, just before she craned forward and kissed him. Kissing her back, King gently held onto Tasha, pulling her closer to him. She soon clutched to King, kissing a little more urgently. Soon, he also began caressing her arm whilst they kissed. Her breath quickened at the tingling she felt when King stroked her arm, and she felt his chest. Suddenly, she longed to feel those abs underneath that shirt. Somehow, King seemed to think the same thing, as he began trying to remove his shirt, still not breaking away from the kiss he shared with Tasha. Tasha helped with that, and once it was off, her wishes were fulfilled. She got to feel King's strong chest and abdomen with grateful pleasure; hard like a rock, but smooth like baby skin. Something happened to Tasha that she was slightly embarrassed about, but couldn't really stop because she was so caught up with what was going on.

She started to purr.

As he began stroking Tasha's neck as well, King didn't seem to mind that she began purring; in fact, he found it quite cute. Her hands made a round from his abdomen to his back and over his shoulder blades, trying to purr a little more quietly. In response, he moved his hand from her neck, down across her back towards her thigh. That provoked her purring to be a bit louder, a rush of heat overtaking her while she moved them, ending up with King pinned against the wall as they continued to make-out. While surprised, it didn't stop King from continuing the make-out, as he kept caressing Tasha's thighs. Her skirt was so short that King's hands were practically touching bare legs, and the goosebumps made her shiver. Not to mention her purring was a tad louder. That seemed to spur King on further, as he began trailing his hand up from Tasha's thighs, up across the sides of her body. Tasha grew breathless, all the more purring louder while kissing him harder. Deepening the kiss as well, King moved his hands towards Tasha's back, holding her tightly.

After letting him hold her close, Tasha distanced, feeling the need to untie her upper wrap. Noting this, King decided on helping her untie it as well. Once loose, Tasha dropped the wrap to the ground, and pressed their bare, warm chests together longingly. As she did that, King wrapped his arms around Tasha again, further pressing their bodies against each other. Purring quite intensely now, ears twisted back and everything, Tasha reached for King's black jeans. Nodding, King assisted Tasha in removing them as well. It was Tasha's turn to feel King's thighs and her hands glided up back toward his abs again. Then, King wrapped his arms around Tasha once more, leading her over to the bed, which both of them settled onto. Underneath the pressure of his body, Tasha was overheating and overwhelmed with emotions, purring even more.

"Oh...Twilight..." she moaned in her heat.

* * *

***Okay. Now you are safe.**

**

* * *

**Jill had Joy in her lap while they sat on the bed, and Jill was rocking Joy back and forth to soothe her crying little girl. She was still upset over Snap, and scared over what happened. For the first time ever, Jill was humming a soothing lullaby to her while stroking her short chocolate hair.

Jill didn't seem to notice the frosty white butterfly perched on the window sill in the room, watching them. Metal, however, did notice it, as he kept an eye on the butterfly whilst he leaned against the wall. _...what's with that butterfly...? _he thought.

Joy was just a mess of sniffles now; most of the crying had been over with earlier. She tried to listen to the sound of Jill's voice, finding it very soothing and comforting. She remembered only hearing the lullaby in her dreams...but this was real. It was like magic. Joy still wondered how her Mommy got her voice back, but now she was becoming too drowsy to care. Jill felt the same; that it was magic. Up until yesterday she could scarcely communicate with her own daughter...now she finally could sing to her this lullaby.

The butterfly just sort of turned away, and peered outside the window.

Raising an eyebrow, Metal kept his gaze at the butterfly_. ...it's been with Joy ever since she got back... why is that?_ he thought.

Jill finally felt Joy grow limp in her lap, and smiled down to see the 3 year old asleep. She raised her off her lap and set her on the bed carefully, tucking her underneath the covers with one last stroke at her hair. That's finally when Jill gazed upon the butterfly on the window sill.

"...quite peculiar..." Metal mused, once he noticed that Jill looked at the butterfly as well.

"...yeah," Jill murmured, staring at it. "...they found that at Gerald's prison?"

"That's what I was told." Metal hummed. "...though why it would follow Joy all the way here, I don't know..."

"Hm."

The butterfly looked over at Jill now, and a strange chill went through her when she looked back. It wasn't like a negative vibe; it was just strange... like it was actually cold in here.

Metal glanced at Jill at that moment. "...is something wrong, Jill?" he hummed.

"...I just get this weird feeling when I look at it," Jill replied; her eyes still locked onto that butterfly.

"...just a weird feeling, huh..." Metal hummed, before looking back at the butterfly. "...wonder what it means..."

Jill fell silent, still staring at that butterfly. Something couldn't help but rush back to her mind then...

_It was a day she walked through a forest covered in a blanket of snow and the snow continuing to fall. The biting, cold air gnawed on her legs while she trudged each cold step onward; her chattering teeth releasing puffs of white breath. The most she had for warmth were two layers of coats, and she desperately tried to cover up the bulge of her stomach to keep her precious womb warm. It was the only thing pushing her forward; that...and the thought of her late beloved. Bitter tears rolled down her face, with no voice to express the anguish she was in.  
_

_Oh Brick... why did this have to happen to him? Why did cruel fate have to take him away from his developing daughter...and away from her? _

_Jill remembered stopping and looking up sorrowfully at the silver sky, caressing her enlarged stomach. She thought about when she died for Metal, and how she watched them from afar in the spirit world. Could Brick be doing the same thing? Right now even? Maybe he was with her mother up there..._

_Her legs trembled in the cold and under the weight she carried with her. She would have to find somewhere to stay soon, before she caught something. Cold, pneumonia...maybe something worse. She couldn't let that happen; she had to take care of herself, and more importantly...of little unborn Joy. So she started up again through the woods, wondering if she would find a sign of shelter or at least a way out of these woods._

_Jill stopped again. She heard a disturbing rustling at the side, but when she quickly glanced, she saw nothing._

_She heard another sound with a startled jerk toward another direction. It sounded like...a wolf howling._

_No..._

_She stepped onward, cautiously walking backwards to keep a watchful eye on her back. Another howling from behind made her twist on her heels with a gasp. This was not good. This was NOT good at all. Jill started up in a sprint away from the howling noises, hoping to get away quickly._

_Swift paws trampled right past the trees in the direction she ran off._

_Jill picked up the pace when she swore that she heard rustling all around her, ignoring the snowflakes prickling her face as she ran through them. She grew more frantic when she heard feral pants all around her, and noisy, running feet crunching through the snow rapidly. Now she saw numerous figures gathering at the sidelines, speeding up ahead of her before she could catch a glimpse of what they were. The sounds suddenly started to shrink then, and for a minute she relaxed as she slowed down, but when she arrived at a clearing, she stopped in utter fright._

_A pack of wild, ravenous, dark-gray wolves were standing there, waiting for her; growling at her. Jill trembled more than she did with the mere cold, taking a step or two backward. There was no way she could outrun this many, and a feeling of helplessness rose from within her._

_No... not Joy. Anything but that! Jill would beg these hungry wolves not to eat her and her child. She needed Joy; the girl deserved her first breath of life before brutal death took her away! It was unfair! But these wolves weren't going to be so understanding. Each paw that inched closer and closer to Jill only made her feel even more helpless and afraid. Jill accidentally tripped backward on a twig, and the fall hurt her, as well as put the fetus at unease. So Jill sat there, watching the wolves approach her menacingly while she was frozen; in more ways than one._

_Just when she felt like the wolves would pounce, and it would be a tragic end for her, Jill saw something. At first it was hard to see, because it was just as white as the snow on the ground, but then it came closer. It was...a butterfly. A butterfly, with wings as frosty white as the snow itself. The butterfly came up to her, and it's graceful movements calmed the frightened mother..._

_The wolves barked and jumped. Jill snapped out of the trace of the butterfly, cringing to brace for her fate..._

_...but it never came._

_Jill couldn't move...she just couldn't, but she never felt anything touch her. So when she heard sudden noises, like whimpers, raging huffs, snorts, thundering steps and thuds against the snow, she couldn't move. Only she could finally move when she heard paws pattering away, the whimpering vanishing within the trees. She looked up at where the wolves once were, and saw nothing. They were gone. _

_Slowly and carefully standing back up, she rubbed her belly again to comfort the shaken fetus, and that's when she saw the evidence of what happened in the snow. A lot of it was pushed aside with skid marks, but just mostly distorted. There were paw prints everywhere..._

_...and there were also hoof prints._

_Jill looked at this, baffled at what she saw. She stood there staring at it for hours until the cold got the best of her... so she began her trudge through the snow yet again. Somehow, she was very lucky. _

_No, she couldn't be stupid. It wasn't luck. Something came and saved her...but what would try to save her that had hoof prints? _

_It hit her like a slap in the face, causing her to stop her feet dead in the snow, and stand there, stupefied. Of all the outrageous things she had seen in her life, she could at least make a guess or two at what it could have been._

_...but was it possible?_

"Brick..."

Jill blinked, finding that she had been staring at the window sill for who knows how long. The butterfly was gone now to her disdain, but she remained frozen there since her thoughts seemed to take over her entire body.

"...Jill?" Glancing at Jill, Metal tilted his head. "You've been silent for a while, now... are you alright?"

Jill felt something trickle down her cheek, and it took her a minute to realize they were tears. "...I saw that butterfly before..." she muttered.

Metal blinked, as he approached Jill, sitting down by her. "...you... saw it before...?" he uttered.

"...when I was still pregnant with Joy, around wintertime, I was walking through some woods somewhere...I was cornered by a pack of hungry wolves..." she muttered.

"...you were?" Metal hummed in surprise, placing a hand on Jill's shoulder. "...what happened?"

"...I saw that butterfly."

Jill looked at him long and hard. "...and just when the wolves were upon me, I was saved..." Her mind traced back to those hoof prints she saw in the snow, rendering her hesitant to continue. "...I didn't see what happened, but something warded away the wolves. I took a look at the snow to see what could have happened...and I saw hoof prints."

"...hoof prints..." Metal uttered, a thoughtful look on his face. _...it couldn't have been... him...?_

"...but now the butterfly's gone," Jill murmured, looking at the deserted window sill. "...so I suppose I won't be able to get any answers..." she sighed in more disdain.

"...perhaps those are answers for another day?" Metal hummed, glancing at Jill. "...try not to worry about it. Rest for now, Jill."

"...okay..." Jill looked to her sleeping daughter; a sight that managed to take her mind off of what she was thinking. She pulled up the covers for her to slip into and once her head was one the pillow, she put an arm around Joy, which triggered the little ewe to turn over and cuddle up next to her mother; all while in her sleep.

Metal couldn't help but smile at that, as he briefly nodded. "...good night, Jill." he said.

"...good night, Metal," Jill responded, closing her eyes and relaxing.

Nodding, Metal glanced back towards the window, as he let out a small sigh. _...to think that things would come to this..._ he thought. _...quite curious..._


	13. Chapter 13

_**5 Years Later – Chapter Thirteen…**_

"Maaaan... isn't the ferry gonna show up, soon?" As the morning sun shone over Safe Haven, Lin was sitting on her own by the docks, rubbing her eyes. King had told her to be by the docks early, to meet with a special guest who would show up soon. "Sheesh... I know the island blew up a little, but still..."

Lin wasn't on her own for long. From out one of the sheds on the dock, a certain toucan arose and walked out, not quite awake yet. Flamenco joined Lin sitting on the dock, splashing some of the cold, salty sea water on his face to try and wake up a bit.

"...when do you think it'll show up, Flammy?" Lin muttered, before letting out a yawn.

_"...No sé..."_ Flamenco was still stuck on Spanish mode this morning, it seemed.

Sighing, Lin rubbed her neck, when she suddenly spotted something in the distance. "...hm?" Blinking, she squinted to try to get a better look at what she saw, but it was still too far away.

When Flamenco had drenched his eyes with enough cold water, he was awake enough to see the same thing Lin did. "...the ferry, perhaps?" Finally English was starting to compute with him.

"...no... it's a lot faster." Lin mused, as she tilted her head. "...wait a tick... I think I recognize that figure!"

As the figure came clearer into view, the two could see that it wasn't the ferry; rather, it was a lone person riding on an Extreme Gear, with two nozzles at the front and back. His arms were folded across his cloaked body, and even with the speed he moved at, the hat covering his face didn't budge whatsoever.

A smile grew on Flamenco's beak when he saw who was coming. "I suppose the ferry didn't suit him."

"...eh? So, the guy who King sent the letter to..." Lin uttered, just as the incoming man suddenly flew right above the two of them, skilfully landing a short distance from them.

"...I am sorry for the delay; Lone Wolf needed a few adjustments." the person uttered, as he stopped the Extreme Gear, before quickly working on assembling it into a massive rifle, which he hung on his back. "...Lock the Sniper, at your service." he uttered, glancing back at Lin and Flamenco.

Flamenco nodded to him. "Buenas dias. Como estas, Lock?"

"...I'm fine." Lock hummed. "I've been keeping the business just fine, whilst keeping the Babylons in line over in Future City..." Then, he folded his arms. "...but I'll be honest; I was surprised to learn that Jill was on the island."

"...K-King told you, huh..." Lin muttered, looking shyly away.

"That's not the only thing, amigo," Flamenco said. "She's gotten her voice back."

"...now that's news to me." Lock mused, before nodding. "But more importantly... she's being targeted by certain individuals around here?"

"Yeah; I'm sure King told you about that in the letter." Lin nodded.

"Of course." Lock hummed. "And he needs me to look after her..."

"I will ask you to follow me then..." Flamenco murmured, turning and walking off. "Lin...keep watch while I lead Lock to the shelter."

"Sure thing!" Lin nodded, as she turned back to look upon the sea, whilst Lock walked off with Flamenco.

As the two walked, Lock glanced at the toucan. "...so, the two of you were relegated to watch duties?" he mused.

Flamenco shrugged. "I do not complain about it. I would guess that I wasn't really suited for anything else but that."

"...hm." Lock hummed, before folding his arms. "Both of you are curious cases..." he mused. "...perhaps you're fated to work together?"

"Perhaps..." Flamenco looked at him again. "...but does that imply something, mi amigo?" he asked curiously.

"Not at all." Lock replied. "One doesn't need to be intimate to have a proper work-related relationship with someone." he added, before glancing at Flamenco. "Though, this is only a loner's musings; I have no true personal experience with that."

"Si, I understand," Flamenco replied with a nod, looking back onward to where he was going. He just wanted to make sure Lock didn't say anything about him and Lin. He would clarify that they were partners for work, if not good friends. Nothing else. "Ah, here we are," Flamenco finally saw the building they sought out in the distance.

"...that's it, huh?" Lock hummed, before nodding. "I wonder what sort of welcome I'll receive... it's been years since I've seen any of them."

"King and his troupe aren't the only ones here," Flamenco said. First he looked back and forth to make sure no one was around to hear him. "...Metal Sonic is here too," he whispered.

"...I know." Lock nodded. "King chronicled that in his letter as well."

"I see," Flamenco said. "Well, if you don't mind me asking personally, what exactly did King entail in this letter he sent to you?"

"...I cannot tell you." Lock mused. "The letter immediately began with King pleading me not to tell of some of the details included in the letter." Then, he glanced at Flamenco. "What you already know is more than enough."

"Si, then. I understand," Flamenco nodded. "Well then, forgive me for keeping you outside. Let us go in," and he opened the door to allow Lock in first before he entered himself, closing the door behind them.

Glancing around, Lock hummed. "...now where would King be hiding...?" he hummed, taking a step forward...

"LOCK?"

Figures rushed in out of nowhere, a majority of them throwing their arms around the bounty hunter too swiftly to anticipate.

"...well, now..." Lock uttered, acting as if he wasn't surprised by this group hug. "...you're here, too?"

"Yep! But we never thought that you'd come here, Lock!" Striker laughed, still clinging to him.

"It's so good to see you!" exclaimed Ani.

_"Really good!" _Tails Doll cheered as well, being perched on Lock's hat.

"...heh." Chuckling, Lock closed his eyes. "...it's good to see you kids again, as well... but you're not really kids anymore, are you?"

"No, not really," Milo answered, while everybody finally let go of Lock. "But I'm sure you're not any different than when we met years ago."

"...who can say?" Lock chuckled, as he glanced at the group in front of him. "...isn't there someone missing?"

"...you mean Jack?" Tails Doll hummed, as he glanced around him. "...come to think of it... he wasn't in bed when we woke up... do you think he got up earlier than us?"

"Probably," Striker answered. "Maybe he needed the bathroom or something." Then he took Lock's hand and started pulling him away. "C'mon! We gotta introduce you to Snap!"

"...Snap?" Lock hummed. "A new friend of yours?"

_"You could say that!"_ Tails Doll nodded, as he fluttered onto Ani's head. _"Let's go!"_

"Snap is a robot that Striker made, Lock," Ani said, while the group entered into the kitchen part of the facility. There on the table, sure enough, was the sea-green and black bot, still offline and lying motionless on the table for Lock to look upon.

"...hm." Humming, Lock placed a hand on the robot. "...Striker built him?" he mused, before chuckling. "...not bad. This workmanship shows true quality..."

* * *

"...mnh... how'd I end up here?" Rubbing his head, Jack glanced around, as he found himself walking up a slope of sorts. "I remember waking up... but then everything's a blur..." Yawning, Jack glanced up the slope. "...wonder what's up there..." As he kept trotting up the path, Jack glanced to the side, looking out towards the sea. "...man, this must be a mountain of sorts... but why can't I remember climbing up it?" Shrugging, he looked back upwards. "...maybe I can find something up here to cheer up Joy with?" he hummed, before smiling. "Lucky break! Let's see what I can find!"

In a tiny cave farther up the mountain, two figures were sleeping. Well, one figure was sleeping now. The other one was beginning to wake up, and she pulled up her head from the other's chest, rubbing her eyes. Oblivion looked outside the mouth of the cave with a smile on her face. It sure was a pretty morning. Letting out a low growl, the sleeping Charon moved just a bit in his sleep, without waking up just yet. Oblivion turned her smile from outside to him. She didn't care if people thought he was a monster. He actually looked very peaceful and gentle.

She stood up slowly from where she lay beside Charon, and went to take a peek outside to make sure everything was still safe.

As she looked outside, however, she saw someone heading up the slope towards them, though his gaze was directed out to the horizon; a lion with a red mane.

Oblivion gasped, and quickly looked back at Charon. How did someone get up the slope? Wasn't Spiel and his men taking care of that? Then she looked back at that lion. Maybe...maybe she could convince him to leave before they see Charon...

Without really thinking this through, Oblivion ran out toward the lion. "Stop! Don't go any farther!" she called to him.

Jack blinked, as he looked towards where the voice came from. "...someone was up here?" he uttered, before waving. "Hiya! My name's Jack! What's your name?"

Oblivion stopped right in front of him, looking at him strangely. She never saw this character around the island before...and his childlike, innocent impression threw her off for a minute. "...uh, I'm Oblivion," she shyly responded. "...look, you mustn't be up here! It's dangerous!"

Jack blinked, as he tilted his head. "...dangerous?" he hummed. "...why is that?" he inquired.

"I..." Oblivion just looked at Jack. She kept feeling like she could actually trust this guy, but deep inside she knew that she couldn't really trust anyone with her secrets... "...I can't tell you why, I'm sorry," she murmured. "But you have to go, and quickly."

"...why?" Jack hummed, tilting his head the other way now. "If it's so dangerous up here... then why are you up here, then?"

"Because I..." darn it. This guy was just as inquisitive as a little child, and it was making Oblivion real nervous. "...I'm the only one that can stop the danger, and I don't want anyone to get hurt," she whispered.

"...you don't want anyone to get hurt?" Jack uttered, blinking. "...then... there must be something really scary up here! Listen; I'll help you out! I can tell King about it, and he can help you take the danger away!"

"NO!" Oblivion blurted loudly in fear. Then she tried to calm herself. "...no, you can't...you can't tell anyone, okay? It's supposed to be a secret..."

"...it's a secret danger?" Jack uttered, as he folded his arms. "...but what if you can't stop it? Everyone could get hurt, then..."

"But..." Oblivion wasn't getting anywhere with this, and what Jack just said really started to bother her. What if Charon couldn't be stopped the next time he got out of hand, like Jack supposed? She felt helpless... and started thinking about whether or not she really should tell him. If it didn't turn out pretty...she could always erase his memory of ever being up here.

"...Jack, was it?" she said. "...I'm going to go ahead and show you the secret..." then she took him by the shoulders and looked at him deeply. "...but you HAVE to promise me...that you won't tell anyone."

Jack blinked, as he looked back at Oblivion... before taking hold of her shoulders as well. "Alright! I won't tell anyone about it!" Then, with a small smile, he raised his right hand, his pinky finger extended. "Pinky swear!"

The pink swear? Really? Oblivion stared at Jack blankly for a moment. He was so innocent like a child... it just blew her away. Finally she took his pinky with her own. "Pinky swear," she responded with a nod. Once she released the pinky, she took Jack and quietly led him toward the cave. "You'll have to be quiet..." she whispered. "...my friend; he's asleep."

"...your friend?" Jack hummed, as he looked at Oblivion. "...does he know about the danger, too?"

Oblivion bit her lip when she was about to tell him, "...Jack...my friend IS the danger..."

Jack blinked, as he looked at Oblivion. "...that's not nice to say, you know." he said with a small sigh. "Don't you think he'd feel sad if you said that about him?"

Oblivion grew sad, herself. "I know it's not nice. In fact, I don't even like saying it. He's really not dangerous...he's actually very kind and genuine...but a lot of other people are afraid of him, and because they're scared of him, they do hurtful things to him to make him go away..."

"...that's not nice at all." Jack muttered, before he sighed. "...so, where's your friend, then?"

"...he's in here," Oblivion answered, just when the two of them arrived to the mouth of the cave. Cautiously, she brought him inside, and it wasn't very long at all until Jack caught the sight of something lying on the ground.

Something with large wings...and three heads...

Jack blinked, as he looked at this creature. "...he's your friend?" he hummed, approaching him with care. "...what's his name?"

"...his name is Charon," Oblivion was absolutely amazed that Jack did not freak out at the sight of him. She was so used to many others doing it...

"...Charon, huh..." Jack hummed, before smiling. "...that's a cool name!" he said.

"Shhhh..." Oblivion hushed him frantically, while to her relief realizing Jack's voice didn't wake Charon up. Would she do so though? Wake Charon up, so he could meet Jack? He didn't seem to be intimidated in the slightest...

"...Jack, I'm going to wake him up... so you can meet him," she whispered. "...and whatever happens, don't run. I want you to be brave...can you do that?"

"...I won't run." Jack nodded, as he looked at Oblivion with a smile. "If he's as nice as you say he is... then I don't need to run."

Oblivion slowly smiled back. He did have a good point. Strange for someone so innocent to have a bit of wisdom in him.

She stepped over to Charon and placed a hand on his chest. She paused with a glance at him, pondering again if she should really do this. _Charon...I only hope that you are as relaxed about this as he is,_ she thought, as she began to shake him. "Charon..." she called to him. "...time to get up, Charon."

"...mhrm..." Growling, Charon blinked, as he glanced at the unicorn. "...Oblivion..." he muttered, before one of his heads caught glance of Jack, who simply sat there. Instantly, his senses went on full alert, as he shot to his feet, glaring at the lion. "Who are you?" he roared.

Jack, however, remained sort of calm; a bit thrown off by Charon's outburst, but otherwise perfectly calm. "...my name's Jack." he said with a brief nod. "Nice to meet you, Mister Charon."

Charon blinked, as he looked down at the lion with a baffled look. "...Mister... Charon...?"

"...he's...a friend, Charon," Oblivion said, trying to ease him despite her startled voice. "...so don't worry...Jack isn't going to hurt us..."

Charon blinked, as one of his heads glanced at Oblivion. "...he's... a friend...?"

"Man, those three heads look cool!" Jack laughed. "Were you born with them?"

Growling, Charon directed all of his heads back at Jack. "...n-no..." he said in an uneasy tone. "...I don't like talking about that..."

"...that's alright!" Jack said with a smile. "And don't worry; I won't tell anyone about you! Me and Oblivion pinky-swore on it!"

"...pinky... swore...?" Charon uttered, before he glanced at Oblivion again. "...what does he mean by that...?"

"...it means that he really is willing to keep us a secret," Oblivion answered. But many questions came to mind. "...Jack, how did you get up here, past Spiel?" she asked, turning to the lion.

"...eh? Spiel's here?" Jack uttered, as he looked around him.

"...you mean to say that..." Charon uttered. "...you have no idea how you got past him...?"

"...actually, no..." Jack hummed. "One moment, I woke up... and the next, I was walking up here."

Oblivion found that very weird. "...but I didn't even erase your memories..."

Jack blinked as he heard that, looking at Oblivion with an awed expression. "...you can erase memories? That's one heck of an ability!"

Oblivion gasped and covered her mouth, chastising in her mouth for letting that out. It was just that, again, this guy seemed innocent enough to trust... it just came out before she realized it.

Charon growled, as he looked from Oblivion to Jack. "...you're certainly a curious case..." he hummed, whilst looking at the lion.

"Why so?" Jack inquired curiously.

"...well... how old are you, anyway?" Charon asked.

"Oh, I'm 22 years old!" Jack replied with a wide grin.

That definitely baffled Oblivion to the max, staring at him in total disbelief. He was that old, and yet... he acted like a child?

"...you're... that old?" Charon uttered in surprise, curiously eying Jack.

"Yeah! Why do you ask?" Jack hummed, tilting his head again.

Charon was dumbstruck at Jack's child-like naïvety, as he could only look at Oblivion, as if asking for even the faintest sliver of something that could resemble a coherent answer. Oblivion eventually shrugged back at Charon, and turned to Jack. "Ehm...no reason, really," she answered. "Just a little surprised. You look younger."

"I do?" Jack uttered, scratching his cheek. "...haven't heard that one before..."

_...this person... he's like a child..._ Charon thought, before he sat down in front of Jack. "...you won't tell anyone about this?"

"Of course I won't! Pinky swear, remember?" Jack said, before he reached out his pinky finger to Charon as well. "We'll do one as well!"

Charon blinked, as he looked down at his own hand, before he followed Jack's example, taking his pinky finger with his own.

"Alright!" Jack laughed, before he looked at Oblivion. "Come on; join in, and we can make a circle!" he said, reaching his other pinky finger out to the unicorn.

_He sure is strange..._ Oblivion thought, eventually taking the pinky with a smile. _...but his company is very refreshing._ And she decided to take Charon's pinky to complete the circle.

"Alright! We made a circle!" Jack laughed. "We're secret friends, now!"

Charon blinked as he heard that, still looking at Jack... before he chuckled, smiling a bit. "...yeah... secret friends..."

Oblivion was amazed even more that Jack managed to get a smile of out Charon; something that was very rare indeed. It made her smile too.

* * *

Jill was awoken with a knock on the door. She mumbled a bit, but no words could be made out. Finally, she tried to speak again. "...Come in..." she murmured, and the door opened.

"...good morning." Walking into the room was Lock, who simply tipped his hat to the ewe. "My apologies, if I woke you up."

Jill froze for a minute, staring at him. "...Lock," she uttered. "...I never thought I'd see you here..."

"...I never imagined that you were on this island, either. I suppose we're even." Lock quipped, closing the door behind him. "...good to see you again."

"...likewise," Jill nodded, smiling. Then she looked down at her side, seeing that Joy was still sound asleep.

"...your daughter?" Lock presumed, as he glanced at Joy as well. "...what's her name?"

"Her name's Joy," Jill answered, moving over pieces of hair on Joy's face, smiling more when she saw Joy smile in her sleep, and snuggle into the pillow.

"...Joy..." Lock mused, before he leaned against the wall. "...good name." Then, he glanced to the side, noticing the sleeping Metal Sonic on the other bed. "...Metal's here, as well..."

"Yep." Jill turned over to Lock. "What brings you here?" she asked curiously.

"...King's filled me in on the fact that someone's targeting you." Lock hummed. "To make sure that you're kept safe, he requested me to keep an eye out for you."

"Really?" Jill found it interesting. Then she nervously glanced at Metal. "...what else did he tell you?"

"...he told me that you got your voice back, among other things." Lock hummed. "Hearing you speak, I can confirm that as fact." Then, he glanced at Metal as well. "...he also told me to keep an eye on both Metal and your daughter. Why that is, he told me not to tell anyone else."

"...right..." she murmured. Hearing that made her uneasy a bit more. It wasn't just the fact that someone supposedly was targetting her, and may even target Metal and Joy... it was partly her afraid of anyone finding out the relationship between her and Metal, before she was ready to tell anyone. But why would King say anything? One: he didn't know, and Two: that information would be irrelevant anyhow.

"...is something the matter, Jill?" Lock hummed, briefly tipping the brim of his hat up so he could get a better look at Jill. "You seem thoughtful."

"Oh...nothing," Jill answered, looking away from Metal. But would the bounty hunter really buy that?

"...you're sure about that?" Lock hummed. "Absolutely nothing's bothering you?"

Jill knew that Lock wouldn't press the issue if she didn't want to talk about it, but while looking back at Metal, she knew she'd have to start somewhere. At least begin to tell people something. "...well, it's a bit embarrassing to say," she murmured, rubbing the back of her neck. "...but do you know who Joy's real father is?"

"...isn't it Brick?" Lock hummed. "My condolences, by the way."

"Yes it is...and...thanks," Jill murmured. Then she looked at Metal again. "...well, about more than a week ago Metal came, and since then, Joy and him have bonded a bit and she's pretty fond of him..."

"...I see..." Lock hummed; understanding that since Joy never actually got to meet Brick before his death, Metal seemed to be sort of a surrogate father to her.

"...and...well," She scratched her head, blushing a bit. "...me and Metal..."

Lock glanced back at Jill, wondering what she was going to say; however, her blushing inclined him to believe that it was something personal. As such, he decided to lock the door. "...go on."

"...me and Metal...started to develop something more than we were...a few years ago," she muttered; if Lock knew what she meant.

Humming, Lock eventually nodded. "...I see... how curious..." Folding his arms, the bounty hunter looked back at Metal. "...you haven't told anyone else, yet?"

"...not really, no," Jill answered quietly.

"...I see..." Lock nodded. "...do you intend to tell anyone else about it?" he then inquired, looking back at Jill.

"...eventually," Jill murmured. "...it's just that, I still think about what Joy would think...she could be overjoyed, but...I don't want to jump into anything too quickly."

"...that's understandable." Lock nodded. "...follow your own pace. Once you feel ready to tell everyone... and if they seem ready to listen..."

"...yeah," Jill looked back at that window sill. That butterfly wasn't there; maybe it wasn't going to come back anytime soon. _Brick...if you really are watching over us...I'm so sorry_, she thought, closing her eyes.

"...Jill." Lock uttered, as his gaze shifted over to Joy. "...I'm not sure if Joy would be scared at the sight of me. Should I..."

Jill smiled, turning back to Lock. "She wasn't scared of Metal when they first met. I'm sure it's just fine." She placed a hand on Joy and shook her. "Joy, honey, it's time to wake up."

Joy cracked open her tiny green eyes and yawned while she sat up, rubbing her eyes. Then she spotted Lock in the room, and smiled up at him. "New fwiend, Mama?"

"That's right," Jill nodded.

Regarding a nod to Joy, Lock folded his arms. "...my name's Lock. Nice to meet you, Joy." he said.

"Niceta meet'cha too, Lock!" Joy said, smiling wider. Immediately her smile fell when she looked around the room. "...where's Smap?"

"...you mean Snap?" Lock hummed, before nodding. "Not to worry; he's alright. Striker's just tweaking him a bit, but he's perfectly fine."

"He is?" Joy asked, growing very hopeful with a smile returning. "Can I see?"

Jill smiled again. "Sure," she answered. "And maybe Ani could get you some breakfast." She felt a spontaneous jolt of sharp pain in her back, and with a wincing groan, she laid back down on her bed. She was still trying to recover, it seemed.

"Mama, you okay?" Joy asked worriedly.

"I'm alright," Jill assured her.

Lock glanced at Jill, before humming. "...I'm sure Milo and Ani aren't too far away. Go and see if you can't see Snap." he said, before unlocking the door, opening it a tad.

"Mkay!" Joy hopped out of bed and went out with a wave back to Jill. "Bye bye Mama!"

"Bye," Jill said. Once Joy was out of sight, she looked up at the ceiling and sighed. "...it's strange. Everyone says that I was missing for 3 days awhile ago...but I don't remember anything," she said.

"...is that so..." Lock mused. "...do you have any idea why that is?"

"...I don't know..." Jill answered thoughtfully. "...all I know is that Metal found me in a pretty bad condition; something I'm still trying to heal from." She turned her head. "...could you follow Joy and watch her, make sure she'll be alright?" she asked him. "After all this talk I hear...I start to worry about her."

"...of course." Lock nodded, tipping his hat to Jill, before heading out.

Jill rested a bit on the bed, easing her pain. Then she turned over to Metal. Slowly, she pushed herself off of the bed, and brought her legs around to stand up again. She managed to take a few steps by herself, and the minute she thought she would trip, she stopped to catch herself. She made it to Metal's bed, sitting down beside the sleeping hedgehog.

Eventually, Metal slowly opened his eyes, as he glanced up at Jill. "...hi..." he said with a small smile.

Jill smiled back. "Hi."

"...how long have you been up?" Metal hummed, as he slowly sat up from his bed.

"A little while," Jill answered. "...Lock's here."

"...Lock?" Metal hummed, before nodding. "...I see... that's a surprise to hear..." As he spoke, he glanced over to Jill's bed. "...Joy's awake, too?"

"Yeah, she and Lock went to check on Snap," Jill explained. "She'll probably have some breakfast with Striker and the others too..."

"...I see..." Metal nodded, before glancing out the door. "...did he say why he's here?"

"...King apparently summoned him, so that he could keep an eye on the three of us," Jill answered. "With everything going on, I'm sure King just wanted to be careful..."

"...that's probably the wisest decision..." Metal hummed.

"...I..." Jill rubbed her arms sheepishly. "...I told Lock...about us..."

"...you did?" Metal hummed, as he glanced at Jill. "...well... it was your decision, so..." Then, he placed a hand on Jill's cheek. "...if you felt it was right... then it was probably right."

Jill's heart quickened, looking at him with a smile. "...yeah."

Seeing that smile, Metal closed his eyes, carefully stroking Jill's cheek. Jill closed her eyes too, taking in the feeling of his touch, feeling goosebumps all around. After awhile, she could resist to reach forward and kiss him lightly on the lips. As she did that, Metal lightly kissed her back.

The door suddenly swung open. "Since Joy's awake, I figured that-_**WHAT THE?**_"

Jill yanked away from Metal and looked quickly to who was standing there. "Hunter?" It wasn't just Hunter either. Miser and Ripper were standing behind him, sharing the same jaw-dropping shock that he had.

"...ke...ke?" Ripper uttered in absolute shock.

Metal could only look at the three in silent surprise.

"...um... what's going on here?" Miser finally asked, looking from Jill to Metal.

"It's, uh...it's..." Jill's mind was totally blank for a response, and she covered her mouth with a hand as she turned away, blushing wildly.

"...were you guys...doing what I thought you were doing?" Hunter uttered.

"...um..." Metal uttered uneasily, scratching the back of his head. _Damn it... the cat's out of the bag, now..._ he thought.

"...kekeke... I think they were, Hunter..." Ripper eventually uttered.

"...I..." Jill was so embarrassed that she squeaked. "...I didn't you guys to find out like that..."

Hunter recalled the note on the door yesterday, and it hit him. Jill and Metal at her shop...alone... "...but...how...?" he was at a loss for words at what he was thinking.

Still, Metal was silent, as he could only look away from the three.

"...well... that's certainly one way of getting a wake-up call..." Miser uttered, rubbing the back of her head.

"...I think...we'll leave you two alone..." Hunter uttered, and he shut the door before anyone could oppose.

Jill was still frozen with embarrassment. All she could say was, "...I guess...it's a good thing we weren't here yesterday...or they might have caught us in a worse situation..."

"...y-yes..." Metal nodded. "...that would have been a lot worse..."

Outside, Hunter, Miser and Ripper hadn't moved an inch since Hunter shut the door. In Hunter's head, he was calculating the possibility of why Metal and Jill didn't come back until later in the evening yesterday, but the idea of it still brain-fried him.

"...kekeke..." Ripper uttered, as he glanced at Miser. "...that was... sudden..."

"I'll say..." Miser hummed, trying to calm down. "...from the looks of it, they hadn't told anyone else, yet..."

"...I'm sure Sage probably found out easily enough..." Hunter added.

"...well, that's Sage for you." Miser noted, rubbing her temples. "...still... this is unexpected..."

"...we probably shouldn't tell anyone, kekeke..." Ripper noted. "...rumors can spread like wildfire around the island, and... I don't think Jill needs that kind of pressure right now... kekekeke..."

"...yeah," And with that, the three of them could finally move their legs, walking away from the door.

They all decided to head into the kitchen, finding that Snap was online this time and looking fine. The sea-green robot was sitting up on the table, and Striker was behind him still working a few wires here and there, but mostly inspecting everything. Joy was standing beside him watching, happy to see that Snap was okay, and the others sat by the stove where Ani was preoccupied making breakfast.

Looking up at the three, Lock nodded at them. "...good morning." he said.

"Morning," Hunter replied, taking a seat near the table Snap sat on.

"Huntoh, look!" Joy pointed out. "Smap's all better!"

_"Well...I am for the most part,"_ Snap added. "_My memory of what happened is a little fuzzy though..."_

"I expected that, so don't worry," Striker said.

"...well, it's good to know that you're better." Miser said with a sigh.

"...keke... Jack's been gone for quite some time, now..." Ripper noted, as he glanced around him.

"...yeah, I know," Milo murmured.

"...it could be that Jack's back at the ship," Ani supposed. "Whisker's still there, after all. So's Tails Doll."

"...hm." Lock hummed, as he folded his arms. "Perhaps we could go there later on?"

"We could after breakfast," Striker said. "And there's food on the ship, so if Jack's hungry he'll probably eat there."

Milo chuckled, "Oh, I don't know. I think Jack would much rather have some of Ani's cooking to eat rather than what he could find on the ship."

"True," chuckled Striker in agreement.

"In that case, I'll save some for him," Ani laughed.

"...heh." Lock chuckled, as he folded his arms.

"...don't you think you should start removing your cloak and hat when you're inside?" Miser noted, as she looked at the bounty hunter. "It's kind of rude."

"I like to be careful." Lock shrugged. "It's an old habit."

"Same old Lock," Milo said, smiling.

* * *

"...Big Brother..." Kiri giggled, as she was lying on a couch, whilst reading a small book. "...that lion was really interesting..."

"...yeah, he is," grumbled Diablo, who was washing the gash on his face so it wouldn't get infected. Being a serial killer, and his highest concern was an infection...how amusing.

"...I don't wanna kill him anymore." Kiri giggled. "When we've brought out Callous... we need to have him join us... so we can slaughter everything..."

Diablo paused from what he was doing. Did she say, "Join them?" He swore that he heard her say that. "...what makes you say that, Kiri?" he asked her. "As far as I'm concerned, that lion doesn't look evil at all."

"...surely, you noticed it, Big Brother?" Kiri mused, as she looked at the leopard with a small grin. "...when he attacked you... he showed such killer intent; almost as if he were possessed..."

Possessed... that seemed to be a word that was tossed around a lot.

"...so..." Diablo started to put it together. "...you're saying that like Callous in Jill...there's something in that lion?" he asked her. Yes, he did notice something off about the lion, but he hadn't really thought about that until Kiri pointed it out.

"...something like that." Kiri giggled. "But unlike Jill and Callous... it's not as obvious. He didn't go under any physical changes... only his attitude changed." Hence why Diablo probably didn't notice it as quickly as Kiri did.

Diablo returned to cleaning up the gash. "...well then," he started up again. "How would we go about getting him to join us?"

"...well, I'm not interested in the childish lion. All I want is the killer lion." Kiri hummed, turning onto her back. "...he seemed to be very protective of Joy... maybe we could kill two birds in one stone when we kill her and Metal?"

"...maybe..." Diablo started to think more deeply about this subject. Just what could possess Jack like that anyway? If Kiri answered that Jack's case was similar to Jill's and Callous', then who would be the one to possess Jack anyway? There's no one really that has that kind of connection except for- "?" Diablo stopped cleaning his face again in the stupor of what he was thinking.

Of course! In the story about Jill's past, Jack had an uncle...this same uncle had a thing for Callous, and pretty much had history with the rest of them. As well as plenty of reason to get involved in this.

"...Kiri, I think I just might know who's possessed Jack."

Kiri blinked, as she glanced at Diablo. "...really? Who do you suppose it is, Big Brother?"

"...I'd say a certain dead uncle of his has unfinished business," Diablo chuckled.

"...Johnny?" Hearing that, Kiri beamed. "...wouldn't Callous and Johnny be so happy to be reunited?" she giggled, hugging the book closely. "We need to hurry; I can't wait to see what we'll do when they're released!"

"...yes, seeing them reunite would be an interesting sight to see," Diablo murmured, just finishing bandaging up the gash across his face. Gladly enough, his black hair covered up the bandage, appearing as if he never was cut in the first place. "...c'mon. We need to see if we can get another opportunity today."

"...alright, Big Brother." Kiri nodded, as she sat up, before placing the book down on the couch. "...just remember, though; I get to kill them, alright?"

"Yeah, I know," Diablo answered. "But first things first; we have to capture Joy and lure Metal to us."

* * *

Tasha started to wake up, and for a minute, she didn't remember where she was, so when she found herself in a strange room in a strange bed, she flinched a little. Then she remembered...and eased when she looked over at King. Unlike the first two times they had slept in the same bed, she was still naked from last night. So was King.

She still blushed when she looked at him, asleep like this.

Deep in the back of her mind, she knew that she was going to get in big trouble for this...

Eventually, King let out a small yawn, as he slowly opened his eyes, looking at Tasha. "...mornin', Tasha." he said with a smile.

She couldn't help but smile back. "...good morning, Twilight," she said, fingering the whiskers on his cheek.

Chuckling, King stroked Tasha's cheek with a lone finger. "...how do you feel?" he asked.

"I feel...a little nervous," she answered. "I might get in a lot of trouble..." then she laughed a little, smiling some more, "and yet, I don't really care. I think...I feel wonderful."

"...you do?" King said, before closing his eyes, still smiling. "...you know... I feel the same way."

Tasha smiled some more. "...I...suppose I should go, before someone catches me here," she murmured, sitting up. Then her eyes caught the view of the beautiful morning sun outside the window, and she stopped.

King blinked, as he glanced at Tasha. "...what's up? Something on your mind?" he inquired.

"Oh, nothing...it's just a pretty morning," Tasha murmured in admiration.

Humming, King glanced towards the window as well. "...yeah... you're right." he nodded.

Tasha smiled. Finally, she climbed out of bed and searched the floor for her clothes; redressing herself afterward. Tasha didn't seem to wear much, so getting dressed didn't take very long. She looked at the window, and then she looked back at King.

King simply looked back at her with a smile, nodding. "...see you later, Tasha." he said.

Tasha immediately leaned over the bed and gave King a quick kiss. Then she went to the window. "...see you later, Twilight," she replied, popping open the window which allowed a slight gust in the room. Then she hopped out, and proceeded to climb down the vines outside of the building.

Watching her leave, King let out a small, relieved sigh, as he climbed out of bed, before getting himself dressed. Once he did that, he went over to the window and simply looked out across the field, a smile on his lips.

Somehow the timing was just right, since a knocking came to King's door.

King blinked, as he glanced at the door. "...it's open; just come in!" he called.

The door opened and Cal walked in. "Good morning, King," he greeted with a nod.

Seeing Cal, King gave him a nod. "...mornin', Cal." he said, folding his arms. "The others are up already, I take it?"

"Yep," Cal answered, and then he chuckled. "My main reason was to check and make sure you were up, but the two teams have been talking about something."

Humming, King tilted his head. "...really, now? About what?" he inquired.

"Wondering if maybe we should do something for everyone on the island, just to sort of calm things down a bit," Cal said. "Sonia was especially talking about it...this whole 'killer on the loose' business really puts a lot of the soldiers at unease; some are even getting frustrated with everything, like they haven't been given anything better to do with their time."

"...right..." King muttered, as he rubbed his head. "...things have been hectic around here..." Humming, he closed his eyes. "...but what could-" he began, when he suddenly stopped, as a smile appeared on his face. "...I think I got something."

"Oh really now?" Cal asked, interested. "What would that be?"

"...hurry and find me something to write on and with, and I'll have it all sorted out." King nodded. "If there's one thing that can get the soldiers to ease up, it's a good, old-fashioned tournament."

* * *

At this point, everyone in the kitchen started to wonder the same thing.

"...just where is he?" Ani murmured. "Jack should of, at least, have been back by now..."

"...I hope he hasn't gotten himself lost somewhere on the island." Miser murmured, glancing out of a window with a sigh.

"Kekeke... I don't think he'd run off on his own without telling anyone else, first." Ripper shot in. "He's not that kind of guy, keke."

"...hrm." Lock scoffed, as he looked out of a window as well.

"...then again, he hasn't exactly been himself lately," Striker murmured.

"...that's right," Ani said. "Yesterday one of Will's lackeys dropped by and dangled his harmonica over us. When he mentioned something about his mom...he snapped a little bit."

Hunter quickly looked at Ani. "...snapped?"

"As in, 'he threw the guy into the ground by the throat' snapped," Striker clarified.

Milo kept silent.

"...Jack did that?" Miser uttered, looking at Striker with a baffled look. "Are you absolutely sure?"

Lock blinked, as he glanced at Striker and Milo in silence.

"We saw it for ourselves, Miser," Striker insisted. "He threw that guy on the ground and he was so scared I think he was about to pee himself!"

"Then he ran off," Ani sighed.

Again, Milo still kept silent about this. He knew why Jack acted like that, but he couldn't tell them why. After all, if Johnny didn't really have anything up his sleeve other than actually keeping an eye on Jack, then there wasn't something to be alarmed about.

"...kekekeke, but you have to admit..." Ripper noted, rubbing his head. "...it's weird of Jack to be acting like that, keke."

"We could have Sage take a look at him... when he decides to come back." Miser muttered.

"...hmph." With a mild hum, Lock stood up. "...I'll go and look for him." he said, before looking at the others. "Anyone feel like coming along?"

Joy raised her hand. "I wanna come!"

Everyone looked back and forth at each other. "Joy," Ani spoke. "I'm not sure if it's a good idea..."

"...if she wants to come along, let her." Lock said with a nod. "What, you don't think we can take care of ourselves?" he chuckled.

"...your humor's still as dry as ever, Lock..." Miser muttered, before sighing. "...but with everything that's been going on..."

"We'll be good, we promise," Joy said, totally missing the point.

"...well, alright," Hunter murmured. "I suppose if anything happens Lock is perfectly capable."

Nodding, Lock glanced towards Joy, as he began heading out. "Let's go." He said bluntly, making sure that his rifle hung properly on his back.

"Comin'!" Joy said, happily skipping off after him.

Hunter brushed his fur back on his head. "…things are gonna get pretty bumpy…" he muttered.

"...you're telling me..." Miser muttered, as she looked out of the window, watching the two head off towards the docks.

As the two walked, Lock kept silent, casting a simple glance down at Joy once in a while.

Joy was humming a cheerful melody and picking up pebbles, skipping them along the path. When she noticed Lock look at her, she smiled up at him. Then she returned to her own business as she followed him.

"...hm." Lock hummed, as he glanced ahead of him as well. After a while, he reached into his coat, taking out a revolver, which he carefully inspected.

"Lock, what do ya do?" Joy spontaneously inquired.

"...I chase down bad people." Lock replied, as he twirled the revolver he held a little. "If they've done something nasty, they often have a prize put on them... I take them in to claim that prize."

"…did'ja catch lotsa bad guys?" Joy asked in interest.

"...a lot of them, yes." Lock nodded. "Some of them tougher than others... but not one of them were able to best me."

"Are you like Sonic?" Joy asked again.

"...like Sonic..." Lock hummed, as he stopped twirling the revolver, simply looking at it. "...both yes and no. I mainly fight bad guys... but I keep myself hidden, for the most part."

"...so...you don't have powers like Sonic?" Joy continued.

Lock chuckled, as he hid the revolver on his person again. "...no, I don't. But I can still take out bad guys just like him, even without powers."

Joy smiled. "Did you knowed people that knowed Sonic, like the Pofessoh?"

"...I don't know people like the Professor or Captain as much as your other friends..." Lock hummed, glancing down at Joy. "...but I've met them a few times."

Then another question came to Joy that made her so curious she HAD to ask. "Did my Mama meet the Pofessoh, and knowed about Sonic?"

Lock was silent, as he closed his eyes, before eventually chuckling. "...yes... she did." Lock nodded.

Joy's eyes lit up with excitement, "Really?"

"Yeah." Lock chuckled. "Her history with the Professor and Sonic is quite a long one."

"Wow..." Joy said in awe. Then she suddenly stopped.

_"Well now, Callous, that's not very nice," spoke a voice that Joy easily recognized. All of a sudden, the little 3 year old felt herself floating in the air in a storm of clouds, looking down at a scary black castle rooftop. There was her mommy on the roof!_

_"...you!" she hissed. Joy was startled by the vicious tone. That didn't seem like Mama at all._

_"Who, me?" snickered that someone, whom everyone recognized instantly to their surprise._

_"Oh my god...it's him!" Gale uttered with a point._

_For standing there was the one and only Sonic the Hedgehog._

_"...S-Sonic?" an old fox; Tails, uttered in sheer disbelief._

_"WHAT THE HELL?" yelled a green teenage hawk in sync with Captain Whisker and Newt; all three of them shocked to see the legend standing before them._

_"...what do you know..." Lock hummed._

_"...Sonic..." Tails Doll fluttered towards the hedgehog. "...is that really you?"_

_"...Alright, I know there isn't any Sonic Androids for you to be housing," Joy saw Shadow there too, "So is this just your spirit, or something else?"_

_Joy marveled at how so many people were here. King and the others were here too! So were Striker and his friends! Then there were some people she didn't even know! While everyone was silenced in their shock at seeing Sonic, Jill clenched her teeth. Sonic chuckled, "I guess you're not too happy to see me, are ya?"_

_"...how did you get here?" Jill demanded._

_...Mama, what's wrong with you? Joy thought uneasily._

_"I just flew in," Sonic said with a shrug. "What? You thought that us ghosts couldn't come here? It's not Angel Island, you know."_

_"You made a mistake in coming here..." A guy that looked like Jack said that; or, well, he didn't really look much like Jack anymore. Joy was especially scared of him. "Now I'll take you and add you to my power!" he roared, as he suddenly dashed right at Sonic._

_"Hold it!" Before the Jack-look alike could reach Sonic, Shadow stood in his way and grabbed him, keeping him at bay. "Whatever you've planned Sonic, do it quickly! I won't be able to hold him forever!" He grunted, as Johnny struggled._

_"You keep away from me, Sonic!" Jill yelled, bringing out her sword and scythe. "There's NO WAY I'm giving her back her body!" _

Lock blinked, as he glanced down at Joy. "...are you alright?" he hummed.

"...I'm okay," Joy answered, though her body said otherwise. She was shaking all over in fright and she looked so unsure of what she saw.

Looking down at her, Lock knelt down by her. "...are you worried about Jack, now?" he hummed, placing a hand on the little ewe's shoulder.

Joy almost didn't know what Lock was talking about, and then she remembered what she and Lock set out to do in the first place; look for Jack. "...well..." she murmured. "...sorta..."

Chuckling, Lock rubbed Joy's head. "Don't worry; we'll find him." he said reassuringly.

"...wight," Joy said, nodding.

Lock's ears suddenly caught the sound of a projectile, but before he could react, the projectile split between them and hit the ground. Joy let out a startled cry, clutching to her arm. The projectile just barely cut her there; for stuck in the ground was a knife.

"Hn?" Looking down at the knife, Lock swiftly pulled it out of the ground, observing it. _...a regular throwing dagger... but who threw it? _he thought.

Just then, Joy screamed...and her screamed was muffled.

_Hn?_ Quickly throwing the dagger away, Lock drew a revolver out, glaring back at where Joy was. Unfortunately, Lock only saw that Joy was nowhere in sight. Then he heard loud rustling up in the tree tops. Lock remained silent, twirling the revolver about a few times, before suddenly aiming his revolver at where the sound came from, pulling the trigger twice.

Another scream was heard, but thankfully it wasn't Joy's. Someone fell from the tree tops and landed hard on the ground, releasing a scared out of her mind Joy who scurried from their hold and ran to Lock. "Lock!" she wept.

Seeing Joy, Lock quickly knelt by her, before looking at the one who had been holding her. "...you are?" he uttered coldly, keeping a firm grip on the revolver.

The figure pushed himself off the ground with a hand, clutching to his own arm. "...damn...your reputation doesn't lie," Diablo hissed, wincing.

"...hmph." Lock scoffed, as he picked up Joy with one arm, before approaching Diablo, keeping his revolver trained on him. "What were you planning on doing to Joy?" he said.

"...if you're so smart, then figure it out yourself, bounty hunter," Diablo growled, just as he threw something into the ground. Next thing they knew, a puff of black smoke burst out, shrouding Diablo in hiding.

"Kkh..." Hissing, Lock hid the revolver on his person; he knew far too well that Diablo would escape the moment he was covered in the smoke; as such, he saw no reason to waste bullets. "...you're alright, Joy?" he eventually uttered, glancing at the ewe when the smoke cleared.

"…m-m-hm…but I gotsa boo-boo!" Joy uttered, crying and cringing at the cut on her arm.

"...I see..." Lock hummed, as he held Joy's arm, carefully inspecting it. After a while, he took a piece of his cloak and tore it off, before carefully wrapping it around the cut, concealing it. "I don't carry any band-aids with me... but perhaps there's something on the ship. Do you think you can manage until we get there?"

Joy nodded, wiping her eyes. "M-hm…"

Lock nodded, as he rubbed Joy's head again. "...good girl. You can be brave, right?" Then, with a light chuckle, he lifted her up and allowed her to sit on his shoulder. "Shall we?"

"M-hm," Joy repeated. Something drew her mind away from the pain of her cut, such as more curiosity, and her hand reached for Lock's hat.

As she took hold of the hat and lifted it a bit, she got a better view of Lock's face, which certainly had seen better days. Sticking out of his mouth was a large canine, which had been split in half long ago, and his face was riddled with various scars, one of the more notable ones going across his left eye.

Joy touched the scars of his face with wide eyes. "…you got lotsa owies," she said.

"...I've been in a lot of battles..." Lock hummed, as he glanced at Joy. "...not all of them have been as easy as others."

"…you knowed my Mama, wight Lock?" Joy asked, remembering the vision she had earlier. "…did Mama go through hard battles too?"

"...she went through some tough battles, yes..." Lock hummed, as he placed a hand against his own cheek. "...but she walked from them unscathed."

Looking at those scars made Joy feel like the cut on her arm was nothing, and she smiled at him. "Thankies for saving me from bad old Diabwo…"

"...no problem." Lock said with a nod.


	14. Chapter 14

**_Pretty long one this time, and there's AGAIN some content...

* * *

_**

_**5 Years Later – Chapter Fourteen…**_

_...so, I bet that you want to know what my deal is?_ As Milo stood on his own for the time being, that same voice called in his head.

_Yeah, I've been wondering for awhile now,_ Milo responded in his meditation.

_...well, Jack's busy right now, so I'll tell you. You guys have REALLY been missing out, lately._

_On what?_ Milo inquired._ If you would quit beating around the bush already…_

_Look, you kids need to get with the times... anyway, you should know how I've been able to let Jack act out of character at times, first of all._

_Possessing him, right?_ Milo supposed.

_Yep. Though, it only works because he's related to me. If Shadow could do that with Proxy, why shouldn't I be able to do it with Jack? However, I can't stay in him indefinitely; he's too pure for that._

_...makes sense._

_Of course it does. And I'm telling ya; bringing Jack here might have been a saving grace for you. People have practically been hunting Jill and Joy ever since good ol' Toaster showed up._

_But why?_ Milo asked him. _What is their deal with Jill and Joy? They haven't done anything to earn that kind of attention..._

_Oh, they haven't done anything, per se... but some people found out about everything. About you guys, me, Novagod, Callous, that whole shebang five years ago... and this little brat thought it'd be a great idea to try and bring Callous out of Jill, so she could have a merry little murder spree with her._

_...that brat you're talking about is Kiri, isn't it? _Milo guessed._ ...but how? How could they find out so much about us? We don't even know them!_

_Kid, this ox has been hounding information about Jill for quite some time, now. He knows everything about her, and I mean EVERYTHING. Hell, I'm pretty sure he knows stuff about her that even Callous would likely have forgotten about... but he did get his comeuppance, after they spent three days trying to bring her out..._

_...what did they do to her?_ Milo demanded.

_...stuff that I'd normally find to be high-class entertainment. But just thinking that they did all that to get a raise outta Callous sucked the enjoyment right out of it. The ox got what he deserved; Diablo and Kiri are still on the loose, though..._

_Hm..._ Milo grit his teeth. He had an imagination, and knowing what things Johnny and Callous delighted in, he only felt so much more sorry for Jill. _...all this just to get Callous out? Don't they know that Callous isn't going to listen to them? She doesn't have any reason to._

_To be honest, I don't think they cared. I think they just wanted her to come out for the hell of it. Though, now that you guys are here, you can help me keep an eye out for the three of them._

_...do you think they'll finally figure out a way to lure Callous out? _Milo wondered. _You said that she had a soft spot for Joy...and they're targeting her too._

_Oh, they've already figured out a way. And it not only involves Joy... it involves the Toaster, too._

_...how exactly would they use Metal to draw Callous out of Jill? I know that Jill probably still cares a lot about Metal...but still...Callous wouldn't give a damn about him._

_That wouldn't matter. You see, Kiri plans on inflicting the greatest kind of wound on Jill, which is gonna force Callous out of her whether she wants it or not..._

_...heartbreak._

Milo fell quiet as he thought about it. Why? Why did these horrible people want to break down Jill like that so badly? Did Jill just have the knack of attracting the wrong crowds toward her? It wasn't right at all. _...in the event that it really does happen, what do you think we should do about it?_

_...you can't let it happen. _All of a sudden, the voice became a lot more serious. _I dunno why, but that Diablo guy gives me bad vibes... and if Toaster kicks the bucket, then you know perfectly damn well who's going to be unleashed._

_...and that's going to be more trouble than any of us want, that's for sure, _Milo thought. _Alright, I get how bad it is. I still find it...a little unusual that you happen to be on our side for this._

_Heh, your side? _the voice scoffed._ Please; I'm on Callous' side. She just wants to keep Joy safe, and if it means taking care of Jill and Toaster too, then so be it._

_I bet you're hoping for an opportunity to reunite with Callous, aren't you?_ Milo supposed.

_Hey, relax; I'm waiting patiently for Jill to die peacefully, not by being slaughtered. Besides, if Callous did take over Jill's body, the only way I could interact with her would be via Jack, and... that'd be awkward._

"Ugh..." Milo shuddered to think it. _Damn it Johnny, don't put those kind of images in my head... do you even know how Jack reacted when he figured out where babies came from?_

_He's got the mind of a 10-year old; I'd imagine that he reacted accordingly._

Milo sighed. For the most part, the memory of that was more comical than traumatizing, so he was able to put it aside without much issue. _...well, the others are going to start wondering about me if I dawdle. _Just as he was going to leave though, something very useful suddenly occurred to him. _...oh yeah. You wouldn't happen to know where Jack is right now, would you?_

_...oh, yeah... well, I'll only tell you if you do not tell anyone else; it's a secret. _Then, the voice breathed in and out._ ...he's playing with the monster everyone's talking about._

Milo didn't have a response to that. Not right away. _...he's playing with the monster everyone's talking about?_ he repeated in disbelief.

_What, is there an echo in your head? I think you heard me the first time._

_...Just how AND why is Jack playing with the monster?_

_...let's just say that I had a hand in it. The monster actually made sure that Jill managed to escape from her captors during that three-day period, so he can't be that bad._

_The monster saved Jill? _Milo was certainly more surprised at Johnny the more they talked. _...you know what, I'm just going to take your word for it now instead of asking any more questions._

Just remember; I don't want you telling anyone about it. Little Jack decided to pinky swear, of all things, that he'd keep the monster a secret.

_...I understand._ Milo got up from where he had been sitting in meditation to leave the room and go join the others.

_...keep an eye on Joy and Metal._ was the last thing the voice said, before Milo fully left.

Milo nodded to himself as he walked down the hallway alone. He walked through a bit of the facility before he found everyone again; and the numbers of the group had doubled a bit. The original ones in here; Striker, Ani, and Snap, along with Hunter, Miser, Ripper, were joined by King, Cal, Boomer, Newt and Natal. Milo could tell that all of them were in high spirits. "What's up?" he asked.

"Well, everything's tense," Boomer replied. "So King's trying to set up a tournament that the whole island can participate in, just to help relieve some stress."

"And from the looks of it, he's put a hell of a lot of thought into it, y'know!" Newt said with a nod.

"It'll take a while to set up..." King hummed, as he folded his arms with a nod. "...but this is exactly the thing people need to get their mind off things!"

"I agree!" Ani exclaimed with a grin, cracking her knuckles. "It's been awhile since I knocked some soldier heads together!"

Milo laughed and shook his head. Ani was still so spunky after all these years. Then it was even funnier when Milo noticed Striker smiling at Ani when she said that with that kind of enthusiasm. Milo tried to hold in snickers. "I think it's a good idea," he finally said, trying to straighten up.

"Oh? This coming from the lion cub that used to be afraid of everything? That used to be a pessimist?" Ani cynically retorted.

"Hey, I grew out of that," Milo chuckled. "Besides, I'm not the only one who has problems." When he gave Striker a bit of an evil smirk, Striker almost shuddered.

"Observe. When a Mommy and Daddy-"

"AAAAAAAAAGH! SHUT UP!" Striker screamed, holding his ears.

That was enough to send the entire room roaring with laughter; such a cunning quip was enough to make the group forget of the drama that had transpired on the island, at least for a while. Striker turned red in the face with embarrassment.

"Hoo..." Ripper chuckled, before he leaned closer to Miser, whispering to her, "I don't get it."

"Alright, everyone!" King said, as he stood up from his seat, slamming his knuckles together. "We've got a lot of work to do to get this tournament running, so let's get started!"

"Right!" Ani said. "C'mon Dad. I'm sure that if we open up the pub, we can get the word out through customers."

"Sure," Hunter said, standing up.

"...wait a minute..." Milo stared at Ani in disbelief. "...you work in a bar Ani?"

"Yeah, so?"

"...but...but you're only 15!" Milo replied in protest, due to his reaction to this.

"And she's been working at the pub since she was 12." Miser shot in. "She's able to hold her own, Milo."

Milo shot a look at Miser. "...what?"

Ani laughed. "Whatever happened to 'I'm not the only one with problems'?" And she laughed as she and Hunter walked away.

Ripper watched as the two left, before glancing at Milo with a shrug. "Don't worry; she might work at the pub, but she's kept away from any alcoholic beverages, kekeke..."

Miser nodded, as she folded her arms. _...of course, there was that one time... but they don't need to know about that._ she thought.

"...I guess I just find it unusual is all," Milo uttered.

"If everything goes to plan, the tournament should be ready in three days." King hummed, as he looked around. "That way, everyone who wants to sign up can do so, and still have time to train; giving us time to set this up!"

"Well then, we'd better spread the word as well," Boomer said, heading to leave as well.

"Alright!" both Newt and Natal called, as they stood up to follow Boomer out.

"...hey Cal?" Milo asked, stopping the monkey before he could leave. "Where's Captain Charmy?"

"Oh. He was looking for a phone to use," Cal answered. "...I think he wanted to call the Professor."

Milo and Striker looked at each other nervously.

"...you're worried that he'll tell the Professor about what's been going on here?" King hummed, before sighing.

"Kekekeke, or is there something else?" Ripper hummed, as he and Miser looked at Milo and Striker curiously.

Milo remained quiet.

"No, it's mainly just the reason King said," Striker replied, unaware of whether or not Milo had other reasons. "I mean, the Professor still doesn't know anything...like Jill being here, and Joy, and whatnot. I'm not sure how he's going to take the news."

"...well, I'm sure he'll be a little surprised, but that's only natural boys," Cal replied. "After that, I'm sure that the news will relieve him of worries he might have had for a few years...that is, if the Captain doesn't mention what's been happening around here..." and with that, Cal left the room.

_...I don't think he'd mention all that other stuff... _King thought, before he, Miser and Ripper began leaving too. "Hurry to the pub, you two; I'm sure Ani could whip something together for ya, if you're still hungry."

"Okay," Striker said, grabbing Milo and dragging him out the door.

"B-but...I don't want to be near alcohol!" Milo uttered.

"Relax, it's not like they're gonna make you drink the stuff," Striker grumbled; though the mention of that suddenly gave him a very cruel idea. After all, he still had to get back at Milo for embarrassing him like that. _...nah, I'll save that for another time,_ he thought mischievously as he and Milo left.

* * *

"...then what happened next?" Oblivion asked Jack with growing interest.

"Alright, so after Sonic beat up Eggman's mech, Dark Gaia erupted from the magma!" Jack said enthusiastically, wildly moving his arms about. "Eggman tried having it destroy Sonic and Chip, but then he got smacked right out of the center of the planet!"

"...incredible..." Charon hummed, as he looked at Jack with great intrigue.

"Then, the big bad Dark Gaia actually sucked out the werewolf-part of Sonic, and he began pushing the last piece of the earth back outwards!" Jack said, shuddering in excitement at the very thought of it.

Oblivion was truly amazed at the skills Jack had for story-telling; much less how he knew these stories about the famous Sonic the Hedgehog. She only listened more closely to the story... waiting to see what would happen next.

"Then, when Dark Gaia tried attacking them, Chip suddenly used his Light Gaia powers, and did something awesome!" Jack called.

"...awesome?" Charon hummed curiously. "What did he do?"

"You see, he summoned all seven of the Gaia Temples, along with the Chaos Emeralds... and he fused them together to create a gigantic golem!" Jack said, throwing his arms into the air.

Oblivion chuckled at how Jack seemed to love telling the story. "Go on," she urged.

"Then, Chip used the golem to punch Dark Gaia senseless, and Sonic stung all of the monster's eyes!" Jack said with a huge smile. "And then, Dark Gaia turned into Perfect Dark Gaia, sprouting a lot of arms and eyes to try and destroy Sonic and Chip!"

"...then what happened?" Charon uttered.

"Oh, I'll tell you..." Jack said with a giddy tone. "Sonic used the Chaos Emeralds to turn into Super Sonic, and he and Chip completely blasted Perfect Dark Gaia! BAM! BA-ZING! KAPOW!" Jack laughed, moving accordingly to emphasize the various sound effects he called.

Oblivion just laughed; but she was definitely amazed by what was happening in the story.

"And then, to finish it off, Sonic pierced Dark Gaia's main eye, and won the battle!" Jack said, pumping his hands into the air.

"...so the earth was put back together?" Charon mused.

"Yep; but Chip couldn't come along with Sonic. He had to throw Sonic out of the center of the earth, while Chip stayed behind to be sealed again." Jack hummed, before smiling. "But he left his necklace with Sonic as a memento; and the Professor still has it to this day!"

"That's amazing," Oblivion remarked.

"Isn't it?" Jack laughed. "Man, I'd give anything to try out one of those adventures with Sonic once..."

"...do you have time for another story?" Charon asked.

"Sure I do!" Jack said with a smile; just then, however, he heard what sounded like growling. Blinking, Jack looked down at his stomach. "...heh... I guess I'm kinda hungry..."

"...not a problem; I've still got some food left further in the cave." Charon nodded, before he began heading into the cave. "Just wait there, you two; I'll be right back."

Oblivion smiled when she watched Charon leave. It was so nice to see him interact with someone else, and get along so well with them.

"...so, do you know any stories?" Jack hummed, as he glanced at Oblivion. "It could be fun hearing one; and afterwards, Charon could tell a story!"

"…I'm not sure if I have any as exciting as the ones you have though," Oblivion replied, giggling.

"Aw, really? Too bad." Jack hummed, as he glanced towards where Charon had headed. "Well, I could tell another story, like..." Humming, Jack tapped his chin a few times, trying to think of a story he could tell.

Oblivion looked at him, waiting to see what he would come up with next. "Like…?"

After a while, Jack smiled. "...like when me and my friends first met the new Babylon Rogues, and the bounty hunter Lock the Sniper!"

"...I don't think I've heard of those before..." At that point, Charon came back with a large bag of food in his hands, which he placed between himself, Oblivion and Jack. "...so this should be interesting."

"WHOA!" Jack said in disbelief at the sight of the bag. "And there's just food in that? I don't think I could eat all of that, even with a week to do so!"

Jack continued to amuse Oblivion so. "…I believe I have heard of Lock the Sniper; he is a reputable bounty hunter," she said. "…as for these Babylon Rogues, I don't believe I know them."

"Well, they're two birds from Future City who are the grandchildren of Jet the Hawk, the former leader of the group!" Jack began, as he looked back at the two.

"...Jet... you mean the guy who cheated against Sonic in that Extreme Gear race you told us about?" Charon supposed.

"Yeah, him!" Jack nodded. "So, me and my friends went to Future City, and there, we met both Punk and Gale; the Babylon Rogues. They tried picking a fight with us, but then Lock showed up, and managed to scare them away just by standing there!"

"I wouldn't be surprised," Oblivion chuckled, and quieted to listen on.

"So, the reason we were in Future City was because we were going to register our Extreme Gears; mine was a Power Type, by the way... but as it turned out, Lock had an Extreme Gear, too!" Jack continued.

"...did he, now?" Charon hummed.

"Yeah!" Jack said with an enthusiastic nod. "You see, his rifle can be transformed into an Extreme Gear that can go forwards and backwards, and it can shoot energy balls from its exhaust pipes!"

Oblivion didn't know that, and she looked at Jack in astonishment.

"...this Lock certainly seems like an interesting character." Charon mused.

"I know, right?" Jack laughed. "So, anyway, we all went to the Extreme Gear tracks, and since me, Brick and Lock had Power-types, we went there! And there we blasted our way right through boulders and barrels, plowing and shooting down anything in our way!" As he spoke, he began moving his arms wildly about again.

"…Brick?" Oblivion remembered reading that name on Raider's computers awhile ago. She had only ever gotten the glance at the name though…which was why she wanted to know who he was. "…who's he?"

"Oh..." Humming, Jack scratched the back of his head. "...he was a really good friend, and he was the one who designed all of our Extreme Gears... but he died a few years ago."

Hearing that, Charon let out a small growl. "...I'm... sorry to hear that." he muttered.

"...that's alright; he wouldn't want us to be sad about it forever." Jack said, smiling a little.

After he said that, Charon simply looked at the lion.

"…this Brick," Oblivion wondered if it was a bad idea to ask, but she knew it would bug her if she didn't. "…what relationship did he have with Jill?"

"...him and Jill..." Jack hummed, looking up at the ceiling. "...they were really close; you know, close-close?" he said, placing his hands together to emphasize his point.

"...they were a couple?" Charon hummed.

"…a couple…" Remembering that Jack said Brick had died, Oblivion only felt so much more sorry for Jill…

"...hey, like I said; he wouldn't want us to be sad about it." Jack said, as he looked up at the ceiling again. "Some times, I do wonder if he's watching us from up there..."

"...I hope he does." Charon nodded, as he looked up at the ceiling as well. "He sounds like... a nice person."

"…this might be a personal question," Oblivion said, looking at Jack, "…but this Brick…would he happen to be Joy's father?" If Jill and Brick were a couple, then Oblivion would figure as much without the need for explanation.

Jack blinked, before he nodded. "...yeah... he is." Jack nodded. "...but how did you know about Joy? Do you know Jill, too?"

"…a little," now Oblivion grew nervous. She hoped that Jack wouldn't ask questions like that.

"...it's weird, really; Jill never did mention you, Oblivion... then again, I just got here yesterday, so-" Jack began, when something hit him; something he hadn't thought about before. "...hang on... Jill couldn't remember anything during what had happened 3 days ago... and you can erase

memories!"

Oblivion gasped and covered her mouth. She didn't expect Jack to figure it out like that at all...

Perhaps this man child wasn't as naive as one would think.

"...but... why would you erase her memories, Oblivion?" Jack uttered, as he crawled a bit closer to the unicorn. "Did you get mad at her?"

"I...I wasn't mad," Oblivion answered. "...I did it...mostly because I couldn't let her remember the horrible things that Diablo and Raider did to her..." then she turned to Charon nervously. "That, and...I had to keep Charon safe..."

"...she saw Charon?" Jack hummed, as he glanced at the black dragon, who simply looked back at Oblivion. "...and... what horrible things did they-"

"That doesn't matter now. What matters is..." Charon shot in, closing his eyes. "...that Jill's safe now."

Oblivion was silent, pretty guilty about the whole thing again. The only thing she could say was, "...I didn't mean to interrupt your story, Jack...sorry."

"...no, don't be sorry." Jack said with a smile. "I'm just glad that you didn't erase her memories to be mean."

Hearing him say that, Charon chuckled. "...you're really interesting, Jack." he mused.

"...thanks." Jack laughed. "...oh, yeah, the story! So, we were racing, and we came upon a fork in the road..."

* * *

"A tournament?" Jill asked.

"Yep," Striker said, beaming. "King said that everybody might be stressed out about what's going on, so he's setting up a tournament for everybody to participate in!"

"...that sounds interesting." Metal hummed, as he looked at Striker curiously. "When will this tournament start?"

"King said if everything works out, it'll happen in 3 days. That'll give everyone a chance to train and brush up on their skills for it," Striker said eagerly.

"...three days..." Jill really started to think about that for a minute. She was starting to think if she would be recovered by then...chances were that she probably wouldn't...

...and yet, she wanted to challenge that idea.

So she placed a hand on the wall and started getting up. "...do you think I could try for it?"

Striker looked at Jill in disbelief. "...Jill?"

Blinking, Metal glanced at Jill. "...are you sure, Jill? You're still suffering from your wounds..."

"I need to start moving around again; it'll help build up my strength," Jill said. Then she winced and sat back down on her bed.

"...I don't know Jill, you still might need rest," Striker murmured.

Jill grit her teeth. She wanted to do this. She didn't want to be stuck in a bed for much longer; she was so used to being so busy that she was restless and she wouldn't be able to stand being bedridden. So she stood back up. "I'll be fine, I promise," she said.

Looking at Jill, Metal had a concerned, yet understanding expression on his face, regarding a nod to the ewe. "...just don't strain yourself too much, Jill." he said with a slight smile.

"...okay then," Striker said, though he still was in doubt about Jill's health. "I got stuff to do, so I'll gonna leave if that's okay." When he came to the door, it opened before he even touched it, and in walked Snap. "Oh, hi Snap!" Striker said with a smile. "Nice to see you moving around."

_"Yeah, thanks,"_ Snap answered, but suddenly twitched with a spark jolting from his head.

"...uh...are you okay?" Striker uttered.

_"I'm fine...just a side-" _Snap twitched again, _"-effect is all."_

Metal glanced at Striker, blinking a few times. "...seems like quite the side-effect..." he hummed.

"Uh..." Striker scratched sheepishly. "I guess I'm still trying to fix him...maybe...sorta."

_"It's really nothing Striker," _Snap said, and then he twitched again. _"Other than this I'm just-"_ twitched once more, and afterward the robot actually looked like he was in some pain. _"...ow."_

Striker sighed.

"...looks like he still needs some repairs..." Metal mused.

"...c'mon Snap," he moaned, walking out the door.

"...mind if I come along?" Jill asked. "You know...stretch my legs a bit?"

"...I guess," Striker said, looking worriedly at Jill.

"...would you mind if I came along with you?" Metal hummed, glancing at Jill.

"I wouldn't mind," Jill replied, smiling at Metal.

Smiling back, Metal gave her a nod. "Let's go, then."

The four went out the door, and Striker mainly took Snap back to the kitchen to work on him, so Jill and Metal strayed away and went topside to town. Jill took it slow, but found that she was able to walk on her own this time. Whether or not it was how determined she was, or if she really was getting better, she didn't know. She just found it relieving.

"Well, if it isn't Jill and Metal!" At that point, the two of them noticed two others approaching them; namely, Sonia and Wiper, the former waving at Jill. "Hey, how are you doing? I haven't gotten the chance to talk to you yet, Jill!" Sonia called.

Jill smiled. "...I feel better, thanks," she said. "How're you guys?"

Both of the snakes reeled back in surprise once they heard Jill speak. "...did... you just talk, Jill?" Wiper uttered, whilst Sonia could only gawk at her.

"...that, she did." Metal nodded, as he folded his arms.

Jill rubbed her arms. "...I guess you guys didn't catch the news that I could talk..."

"...holy crap..." Sonia uttered. "...this isn't a dream... you're actually talking..." In that instant, Sonia suddenly let out a squee, rushing at Jill to give her a hug. "That's awesome, Jill! Congrats, congrats, congrats!"

"...looks like someone's happy for her." Metal chuckled.

"I'll say." Wiper mused with a slight smile, hissing.

Jill chuckled a little, hugging her back. "Thanks Sonia."

"...so, that's what you sound like!" Sonia said, as she let go of Jill, looking down at her. "Man, I couldn't have imagined... whenever you and Joy show up around the Music Square from now on is bound to be interesting!"

"...right," Jill said, chuckling some more in embarrassment. She wasn't sure if Sonia meant singing, but Jill wasn't even sure how she would sound trying to sing. She hadn't done that in...well, 5 years.

"...now, I'm curious; what brings you two outside?" Wiper hummed, as he glanced at Jill and Metal, folding his arms.

"I wanted to move around a bit, after being stuck in a bed for a few days," Jill said. "I also heard Striker talk about a tournament King's setting up."

"...he's setting up a tournament?" Sonia hummed.

"Yes; it'll begin in three days, if I'm not mistaken." Metal responded, as he folded his arms.

"...hm... that's just what I'd expect King to do..." Wiper chuckled.

"Well, he's hoping it'll take everyone's mind off of what seems to be going on," Jill said.

"WHAO!"

Jill turned quickly, seeing that a trio of Mobian dog brothers had passed by, and stopped to stare at Jill.

"...I thought you didn't have a voice!" Duke uttered.

"...well, obviously, she has one." Wiper noted dryly, as he folded his arms.

"But... the rumors said that she was mute!" a different dog noted.

"Guess the rumors were just rumors, then." Metal hummed.

"...whoa..." Butch muttered. After staring at Jill for a bit longer, the three brothers grabbed each other and took off.

Jill looked nervous. "...I really hope me having my voice back isn't going to be the talk of the island."

"...let's hope that's the case..." Metal muttered.

"...somehow, I think people are gonna talk more about the upcoming tournament than Jill's voice coming back..." Sonia hummed, before she glanced at Jill. "No offense, but... you know how the soldiers are."

"Yeah, I understand," Jill said, smiling. "...kind of relieving, really."

"...well, I know what I'm gonna do in the coming days!" Sonia said, as she clenched her hands together. "I've got to train for the tournament!"

"...hrm..." Humming, Wiper looked at Jill. "...do you plan to recover in time for the tournament?"

Jill nodded. "Yeah. I want to be a part of it too."

"...then, how about all four of us aim for the top?" Sonia suggested, folding her arms. "It should be interesting, all right!"

"...hm." Nodding, Metal folded his arms. "...I suppose I could join in on the tournament as well."

"Same here." Wiper nodded.

Jill smiled. She liked the idea of that. "...I guess it's been a long time since we sparred, hasn't it, Metal?" she mused.

"...it certainly has." Metal chuckled, as he glanced back at Jill.

That brought memories back to Jill, and she smiled. Though there was no time for reminiscing really, since Jill was the kind to get lost in thoughts like that. "...did anyone happen to see where Lock and Joy went?" Jill asked, changing subjects.

"...I did notice them headed towards the docks." Sonia hummed, folding her arms. "Maybe they were looking for someone there?"

"...maybe we'll head over there," Jill said. After all, she still didn't want to be separated from Joy for long periods of time. It just wasn't a good idea. "...is that okay with you, Metal?" she asked.

"...sure; that's alright." Metal nodded.

Jill and Metal started walking away, with Jill waving at Wiper and Sonia. "See you guys later!"

"Later, Jill, Metal!" Sonia called, as she and Wiper waved after them.

Around this time, Lock and Joy were at the docks by now, boarding onto the large pirate ship that had been parked there. Lock carried Joy across the deck and then inside the ship.

"Jack!" Joy called through cupped hands, hoping her voice would be loud enough to be heard.

_"...is Jack here?"_ At that point, Tails Doll suddenly fluttered towards the two of them, stopping in front of them. _"Hiya, Joy and Lock! Did you see Jack anywhere?"_

"...actually, we're here to look for him."

"Well, sorry t' disappoint, but he ain't here." At that point, Whisker approached the group as well, rubbing the back of his head.

"Aw...Jack's not here?" Joy asked in disappointment.

_"I thought that he was with you guys by now?"_ Tails Doll hummed.

"No; he's been missing since I showed up earlier today." Lock mused.

Joy tried to reach over and managed to grab Tails Doll to cuddle him. "...but where's Jack?" she asked.

"...we... dasn't know." Whisker muttered, as he sighed.

"...hmph..." Lock hummed, as he glanced at the robot pirate. "...by the way, we need a band-aid. Can we find one on the ship?"

"Aye; jus' follow me." Whisker nodded, before he began heading down the hall. Placing a hand on Joy's back, Lock led her and Tails Doll after the pirate. Joy went obediently, fondly squeezing Tails Doll a bit against her little cheek.

After a while, the group reached the ship's infirmary, which Whisker allowed the others to enter; he stood outside. "Ye`ll find band-aids in th' desk-drawer." he said, folding his arms.

"...thanks." Lock hummed, picking up Joy and seating her on the medical bed. Then he went to open the said drawer Whisker mentioned. Joy placed Tails Doll on the side of the bed so that when Lock found what he needed, he could tend to her without Tails Doll being in the way. "...let's see, here..." Humming, Lock took out a few things from the drawer in addition to band-aids; disinfectant and cotton. Carefully administering some of the disinfectant onto the cotton, Lock went to unwrap the piece of cloth around her arm. "...this might sting a little, Joy." he said, before he carefully began cleaning the wound.

Joy let out a surprised yelp because it, indeed, stung bitterly for the 3 year old, and she bit her lip to get through the pain.

Lock just made sure not to apply too much pressure on Joy's arm so she wouldn't feel more pain than necessary. "...Tails Doll, could you bring a band-aid here?" he asked.

Nodding, the small plushie hurried over to the desk for the band-aid Lock had taken out of the box, and fluttering back, Tails Doll noticed that Lock had finished cleaning Joy's wound._ "...that was quick."_

"...now the wound won't get worse." Lock mused, sticking the band-aid over Joy's wound. "...and there; it's done."

Joy smiled when it was over, "All better!" And she put her arms around Tails Doll again lovingly. "Thankies again, Lock!"

"...don't mention it." Lock hummed, tipping his hat to Joy.

_"...but it's kinda weird that Jack just vanished like that..."_ Tails Doll muttered.

Joy's mind reset to the issue at hand at what Tails Doll said. "I hope he's okay."

"...I'm sure he's fine." Lock said reassuringly, rubbing Joy's head. "Don't worry about him too much."

"Mkay..." Joy mumbled, hugging to Tails Doll some more.

"...now, how about we head back?" Lock suggested. "With any luck, Jack should have gotten back by now."

"Yeah!" Joy said, hopping off the medical bed and hurrying outside past Whisker. Upon reaching the deck, Joy screeched to a stop and saw two familiar figures walk up to the dock. A big smile appeared on her face as she waved. "Hi Mama! Hi Metoh!"

Walking up behind her, Lock and Whisker saw the two approach the docks as well. "...well, what do you know." Lock hummed.

"...there they are." Metal mused, glancing towards the pirate ship with a slight wave back to Joy.

"Lookie Mama! Itsa big piwate ship!" Joy exclaimed loudly.

Jill giggled. Joy quickly disembarked the ship and rushed to Jill. When her mother knelt down to her, Joy threw her arms around Jill, releasing Tails Doll to hug her. "Is that Captain Whisker's pirate ship?" Jill asked her, hoisting Joy up.

"Uh-huh!" Joy said, beaming. "Strikoh taked me there and we had lotsa fun playing piwate!"

Jill giggled some more.

_"Nice to see you guys outside!"_ Tails Doll chimed in, fluttering up into the air. _"What's up?"_

"We heard that Joy and Lock had headed to the docks, and decided to swing on by." Metal replied with a slight nod.

With a mild nod, Lock leaped off the ship as well, casually approaching the small group.

"Strikoh also telled us a story about Sonic the Hedgehog!" Joy said, and she turned to Metal smiling. "Then he telled me that Sonic was Metoh's Grampa!"

Jill was utterly baffled when she heard Joy say that. While a Sonic story was no problem with Jill, the fact that Striker said Sonic was Metal's grandfather was a bit of a twist that took her by surprise for sure.

Lock blinked, as he glanced over at Metal, who seemed even more baffled than Jill; for good reason, mind you...

"...Joy, what story about Sonic did Striker tell you?" Jill wanted to know because she hoped that Striker didn't give a reason to question why Sonic looked like Metal, or really the other way around honestly.

"Oh yeah! It's the one about Shadoh and the Space ARK place!" Joy replied eagerly. "This big bad lizard was gonna break the Earth and they turned all gold and silver to beat it! But Shadoh fell to the Earth and then was picked up by-" Joy covered her mouth to stop herself.

"...Joy?" Jill murmured worriedly.

Joy looked back at Metal again, almost afraid of his reaction would be to this.

Metal could only look down at Joy in surprise. _...how on..._ he thought._ ...the only ones who should know who picked Shadow up after he stopped the ARK are me, Shadow and Eggman... so how on earth could Joy know that?_

"...nevoh mind," the 3 year old uttered.

"You sure?" Jill questioned, not really aware of what was going on.

"...m-hm," Joy nodded, though she still kept looking at Metal uneasily.

Metal, too, couldn't help but look down at Joy for a while, before directing his gaze away from her. Joy grew a little worried; she just hoped that she didn't hurt Metal's feelings or anything.

"So what brought you guys to the docks?" Jill asked.

"We went here to look for Jack, thinking that he had wandered off here." Lock replied, folding his arms.

"...but you didn't find him?" Metal inquired, looking at the bounty hunter.

_"No; he hasn't been here all day."_ Tails Doll noted.

"…that doesn't sound good," Jill murmured, setting Joy back down on the ground.

"He wasn't anywhere near the facility when we left, either..." Metal hummed, as he folded his arms. "...just where did that lion wander off to, now?"

_"...you guys don't think that Jack was kidnapped?"_ Tails Doll uttered worriedly.

"I sincerely doubt that." Lock shot in. "He should be able to handle himself. He is over 20 years old, after all."

Joy remembered what happened yesterday; where Jack was faring just fine against Diablo. "…Jack's gotta be okay," she murmured in agreement.

Jill rubbed Joy's head. She, herself, was a little worried over Jack, but she hid it well.

"...well, perhaps we should head back, now?" Lock suggested.

"Perhaps." Metal nodded. "I'm sure that King's busy planning for that tournament..."

_"Tournament?"_ Tails Doll hummed, looking curiously at Jill and Metal.

"Yeah, King's setting up a battle tournament in 3 days," Jill remarked.

"Whatsa 'battle tournament'?" Joy asked.

"It's where people go up in front of a lot of other people and they fight for fun."

"Oh, I get it!" Joy exclaimed.

_"Ooh, that sounds interesting..." _Tails Doll hummed, looking at the two. _"Do you plan on joining?"_

"...yeah." Metal nodded.

Jill took Joy's hand. "You hungry?" she asked her daughter, and Joy nodded in reply.

* * *

Tasha was walking through the jungle on her own. After having consulted with her father, she managed to convince him to let her stay on Safe Haven territory; for the sake of the injured being cared for there. She wasn't sure if her father suspected what happened between her and King last night, but she decided not to worry about it. After all, it would deter her from remaining on guard, in case anything wanted to ambush her.

With her spear firmly in hand, she walked on, keeping her eye out.

As she walked, however, she failed to notice one character who walked into her path, which caused the two of them to collide, both of them crashing to the ground. "...sorry about that." the stranger uttered.

"...that's alright," Tasha said, getting up. Then she quickly noticed the stranger's eyes. He was blind. "...oh, I'm sorry sir."

"...about what?" he inquired, as he got up on his feet as well. "The way I see it, I bumped into you. So the fault is mine."

"...I just noticed you were blind, is all," Tasha replied.

"...ah." the stranger hummed. "Still, there's no need to apologize." he said with a nod. "...I believe we haven't met, before. Call me Krieg."

"I'm Tasha," She replied with a polite bow of her head.

"...Tasha... I'll keep that in mind." Krieg hummed, as he folded his arms. "Your voice is new to me. Are you one of the new recruits?"

"Not really. I'm just a friend of Twi...erm, King's," Tasha answered. "I'm from the tribal colonies on this island..."

"...tribal colonies..." Krieg hummed. "...haven't heard that one before." he mused after a short while.

"...so you don't know?" Tasha chuckled a little. "I guess not. We live in places on the island where King forbids the soldiers from going to..."

"...hm. So that's the reason..." Krieg hummed, before nodding. "...very interesting..."

Tasha just realized that this stranger was in the jungle. While he was blind as a contributing reason, she wondered, "What are you up to?"

"...wandering." Krieg responded with a simple nod. "Some times, one needs to take a moment from ones line of work, just to admire the wonders of nature."

"...I admire that," Tasha said, "but I must warn you that if you keep continuing forward, you might encounter my father and his people; and they aren't very forgiving of the soldiers of Safe Haven as I am..."

"...hm." Krieg hummed. "No offense to your people, but I assume that they are quite old-fashioned?"

"...somewhat," Tasha admitted.

"I see..." Krieg nodded. "...well, if that is the case, perhaps I should turn back; I wouldn't want to send your people into an uproar."

"I appreciate that, thank you," Tasha said with another bow of her head. "Incidentally, I happen to be going the other way, so would you mind if I accompanied you?"

"...not at all." Krieg nodded. "It would actually be somewhat convenient, given my condition." he chuckled, as he turned around. "Shall we?"

"Of course," Tasha said with a nod, and she started walking with Krieg beside her.

Whilst they walked, Krieg would sporadically look around him; his blindness aside, he seemed content with just listening to the sounds around them. Tasha didn't want to interrupt Krieg's enjoyment of his surroundings and she remained silent for the moment.

"...you said you were friends with King?" Krieg hummed after a while.

"Yes, that's right," Tasha answered.

"...does that mean that you know about King's other friends as well?" Krieg hummed curiously.

That question only reminded her of the tragic things that Sage showed her about him and his friends. "...yes," she muttered.

"I see..." Krieg hummed. "...stop me if I'm becoming too personal, but how long have you known King?"

"For a few years, maybe four," she replied.

"...hm." Krieg hummed. "...how did that go, exactly? Your first meeting, I mean."

"Well..." Tasha smiled a bit at how they first met. "...it was back when King and his group first came here to turn the island into what it is today..."

_"Geez...this jungle is huge!" Ani exclaimed, while following her dad and his friends through the wilderness of old Prison Island. Ani was 11 years old at this time, and while she remained short, it was noticeable the transition she was making from child to girl._

_"You're telling me..." Queen hummed, looking cautiously around the area. "Everyone, remember to stay in one group."_

_"Kekekeke, like we would forget that, Queen!" Ripper laughed, as he was with King in the front, using his blade-arms to cut a way for the group to walk through._

_"It doesn't hurt to be careful, though..." Miser shot in, looking around as well._

_"This place sure is amazing..." Hunter murmured to himself, pulling his daughter along with the rest of them._

_King was silent, as he just made sure to keep an eye on the path Ripper was cutting for them._

_"...you've been quiet for a while, now, King." Sage hummed, before chuckling. "Having second thoughts?"_

_"Of course not." King replied, before smiling. "I'm just thinking of how we're gonna set Safe Haven up. You oughta know that, Sa-YEOW!" A small monkey managed to sneak up on the group, having grabbed King's tail and bitten it, something which startled the group; King moreso. _

_"...huh. There's a monkey." Queen noted dryly._

_"I KNOW IT'S A MONKEY; IT JUST BIT MY TAIL!" King roared, something that startled the monkey enough to make it flee. "WHA- GET BACK HERE! I'M GONNA MAKE YOU PAY!" Before the group could stop him, King bolted after the monkey, leaving the others behind._

_"...keke... should we follow him?" Ripper uttered, looking back at the group._

_"...nah, he'll be fine," Hunter grumbled. "He's King, remember?"_

_"Besides, who among us really wants to get in his way when he's pissed off like that?" Queen said with the same dry tone, and got complete and utter silence as her reply. "...I thought so. We'll just meet him again when we go back to our camp."_

_Meanwhile, King still ran after the monkey, electricity crackling off his body. "HOLD IT RIGHT THERE, YOU TAIL-BITER! I'LL SHOW YOU NOT TO MESS WITH ME!" he roared._

_Unknown to King, something rapidly trailed after him through the treetops swiftly and silently._

_Whether it was his electric powers or just the undiluted rage he exuded, King was soon able to not only catch up to the monkey, but nearly out-running it altogether. He finally remembered to actually grab it when he overtook it, and once he had the tiny simian in his grasp, King skidded to a massive halt, bringing up the monkey to his eyes so he could properly glare at it. _

_"NOW, WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY FOR YOURSELF?"_

_All the monkey could answer with was a frightened yelp._

_Abruptly, a figure swooped down from the treetops above King, kicking him fiercely away to free the wild animal from his grasp._

_The kick knocked him out of his enraged state, as he blinked wildly. "...the hell?" he uttered, looking around him. "Who's there?" he called. _

_King was met with the edge of a knife; or once he observed farther up, it was a spear. It was some strange being with a shawl made out of ragged grass, and they had an ugly face. Ironically enough, the face resembled a monkey. Sadly, that irony wouldn't help his would-be attacker. _

_"MONKEY!" he roared, grabbing hold of the blade, and driving electricity through the blade; while not fatal, it would be enough to force the attacker to let go. The monkey being dropped the spear like a hot potato, suddenly backing away uneasily at the sight of King wielding such a supernatural force of electricity._

_Then it decided to stay its ground, and even run forth with another kick. This time, however, when the attacker tried kicking King, he quickly grabbed the incoming leg. "MONKEY!" he roared again, before hurling the attacker right towards a tree._

_The being became limp upon hitting the tree. That monkey face popped right off and rolled onto the ground; showing that it wasn't a real face at all, but only a mask. Moaning and wincing, what sounded like a woman tried to get up but found that the pain forbade her to get up. She looked up at King, and that's when King got a good look at the pretty face that had been underneath that monkey mask. This woman was a linx with short ginger hair, and long ears. Frightened blue eyes stared at him shakily. _

_Would this stranger finish her right here?_

_However, rather than finishing her, King only managed to utter two words in panic. "...oh, shit!" The moment he said those words, he quickly rushed to the linx's side, kneeling by her. "Damn- sorry, I thought you were a monkey, of all things..." Then, he grabbed hold of her, trying to help her get on her feet._

_The linx was so startled by King's change of heart that when she was on her feet with his help, she backed away from him uneasily again. _

_"...um..." Seeing that, King rubbed the back of his neck. "...sorry about that; I wouldn't have thought of throwing ya into a tree, if not for that mask... so, again, sorry." Then, he tilted his head. "...you sure that you can walk on your own?"_

_This linx only kept her eyes locked on King warily. Another step and she let out a pained cry, falling back on her knees to clutch to her ankle. _

_"Ah, I thought so." King muttered, as he went to the lynx's side again, helping her on her feet again, though making sure that she wouldn't be putting pressure on her ankle. "Hrm... it's gotta be sprained." he muttered, whilst looking around. Great... I'm no good with those kinda injuries; I can only treat cuts, not sprained ankles... he thought._

_The linx stared at him still, but she was softening when she was finally believing that this stranger wasn't going to hurt her. "...what are you?" she finally spoke. "You, who can wield the lightning from the skies?"_

_"...hm?" King blinked, as he glanced at the lynx. "...what I am?" he hummed, before glancing at his free hand, which he allowed a spark of electricity to shoot out from. "...I'm Twilight." he said after a while; rarely did he use the name GUN branded him with all those years ago, but somehow, he wasn't sure if he should utter what he and his partners considered his true name._

_The linx was slow to respond. "...Twilight..." Would she give this stranger her name? It would only be polite... "...my name is Tasha," she muttered._

_"...Tasha..." King hummed, before eventually nodding. "...nice name." he said._

_"...why were you attacking my friend?" she asked him._

_"...your friend?" King uttered, when he suddenly recalled that monkey again. "...oh, right... well, he bit my tail, and I... overreacted." he said with a slightly nervous chuckle._

_"...overreaction is certainly a way of putting it," Tasha mumbled. "You gave me the impression that you would do fatal harm to him."_

_"...well, I wouldn't harm the little guy..." King muttered, rubbing the ack of his neck. ...though I would've yelled at him a lot... he thought, choosing not to utter that sentence._

_Tasha just kept wondering how King was able to summon lightning to his will. "...surely, you must be some type of god?" she asked him._

_"Wha- god?" King uttered in surprise, looking at Tasha with a bewildered expression._

_"To bring forth lightning in your very palms, you must be a god...right?" Tasha supposed._

_King simply looked at Tasha with a baffled expression, before he looked back at his hands. "...I wouldn't consider myself a god, really..." he mused._

_This stranger was a very curious sort to Tasha. He didn't consider himself a god, even though he had unnatural powers? "...just where have you come from, to make you think that?" she asked. _

_"...I-" King began, when he heard something not too far from them. ...who the..._

_"King!" At that point, a few trees were suddenly sliced to ribbons, as the group led by Ripper finally caught up with him. "Kekeke, there you-" the mantis began, when he noticed Tasha. "...are?"_

_Tasha looked at each of them the same way she looked at King the first time. Ripper's scythes were a bit intimidating, so she sort of moved behind King to hide from him. The others were less of a scary sight; especially when 11 year old Ani walked into Tasha's view._

_"...who's this?" Hunter asked curiously, regarding a nod to Tasha._

_"Oh, this?" King hummed, as he gave Tasha a slight nod. "This is Tasha."_

_"...Tasha..." Miser hummed, when she noticed that King was helping her stand. "...is she hurt?"_

_"...she kinda sprained her ankle..." King muttered, as he glanced away from the group._

_"She got in the way of your rampage?" Queen assumed, folding her arms._

_"...She got in the way of my rampage." King admitted guiltily, looking down at the ground._

_"Thought so." Queen sighed, before giving the group a nod. "We should head back to the camp, so we can fix up her ankle."_

_Tasha continued to look at all of them, and her gaze returned to King. "...why do they call you King, Twilight?" she asked him._

_King blinked, as he looked back at Tasha again. "...um, that's because..."_

_...he told her that name? Queen thought in surprise, before shaking her head. "...it's a nickname." she lied. "We call him that because he leads us, like a king."_

_Everyone in the group simply looked at Queen in surprise._

_Ani wanted to oppose "...but that's not-" Hunter covered her mouth up then, implying for her to hush. Tasha didn't seem to pay any mind to what Ani was going to say..._

"So they took me to their camp," Tasha continued telling Krieg. "And they tended to my ankle while I got to know them a little bit." She chuckled. "...I still feel a little embarrassed at how naive I was, thinking they were gods..."

"...intriguing." Krieg hummed, nodding. "It's certainly a lot more interesting than any story I could hope to tell you." he chuckled.

"...unfortunately, I stayed at that camp longer than I should have," Tasha said. "And this summoned search parties my father and some of my other people sent. There was misunderstanding and...well, it took a long time before we convinced my people that King and his group hadn't kidnapped me..."

"...but you did convince them after a while, didn't you?" Krieg supposed, turning his head towards Tasha.

"Yes," Tasha nodded. "...but then my father learned that King wished to use this island and turn it into a warrior nation. My father accused him of coming to take away our home...and needless to say, more warring ensued..." Tasha didn't even want to get into it. It was hard enough that she had to go through that when she just wanted to know them more and be friends, especially when she found that she had grown closer and closer to King in that time.

"...hm." Krieg hummed, before turning his head forward again. "...but the warrior nation stands today, so they must have come to an agreement."

"...yes. My father and King created a form of treaty," Tasha explained. "King would only take certain territories of the island for Safe Haven; and the other territories would belong to us. The treaty also stated that we were not allowed to cross into each other's territories unless there was urgent business that meant otherwise. Lately, activity has stirred among Safe Haven...not to mention some of those explosives around the island harmed some of my people a few days ago, so it would explain how freely I've been allowed to wander on this island."

"...wait a minute..." Krieg hummed, as he tapped his chin in thought. "...does that mean that after the treaty was formed... you didn't get to see King and his comrades again until recently?"

"...that's right," Tasha murmured, not wanting to be reminded of that. It was hard knowing that King was on the island but she couldn't see him for a few years.

"...pity, I suppose..." Krieg hummed, before he sighed. "...well, with all the chaos dying out for now, you should at least be able to catch up with each other." he said. "...some times, you need to look at the positive side of things..." he eventually muttered, turning his head away from Tasha.

"...yeah," Tasha answered, taking what he said to heart.

"...when your people have recovered..." Krieg hummed, holding his arms behind his back. "...what do you think you'll do?"

Tasha knew it would be awhile before everyone healed up, but like Krieg pointed out, they would all return to their home and go back to being forbidden on Safe Haven territory. "...I don't know," she uttered sadly.

"...I'm certain you'll figure it out." Krieg said, placing a hand on her shoulder after a while. "For now... enjoy the time you have with King and his friends."

"...right."

* * *

The sun was beginning to sink down under the horizon, and evening approached rapidly. By the foot of the mountain, where no one currently was hiding, a black figure slowly descended from above, landing on the ground, letting someone step off his back. "Thanks for the ride, Charon!" Jack said with a smile, looking back at the black dragon and the unicorn on his back.

"...hey, I couldn't let Spiel figure out that you were on the mountain." Charon chuckled.

"Make sure and be careful on your way back, Jack," Oblivion said. "And thank you for the stories. We enjoyed listening to them very much."

"I'll be careful!" Jack said with a nod. "And don't worry; I've got a lot more to tell! I'll be back tomorrow!"

"Someone's eager..." Charon chuckled. "...but you don't have to come."

"Too bad; I'm coming anyway!" Jack laughed, as he began heading off. "See you later!"

Charon blinked, before chuckling. "...he's an unique one." he mused, before taking to the air again, flying up the mountain.

"...he certainly is," Oblivion giggled. "...but it was very nice to have him over." She looked to the skies. "...it was comforting

"...comforting..." Charon hummed, as he glanced at one of his hands; the one he had used to form the pinky-swear with Jack. "...I look forward to tomorrow." he said with a smile. "I... want to hear more of his stories."

Oblivion smiled and patted Charon's back that she was riding upon. "I do too," she said.

It took Jack awhile; approximately a few hours, but he finally made it to civilization. The first he ran into was Hunter, who was actually ready to set out to search the island for the same lion that so happened to be walking up to him. "Oh, Jack, there you are," he said. "You've been gone all day. Where were you?"

"Who, me?" Jack hummed, as he glanced around him, before looking back at Hunter. "I went exploring!" he said with an innocent smile.

"...heh, figured as much," Hunter chuckled, putting a hand on Jack's shoulder and taking him toward town. "C'mon. Striker and Milo have been looking for you, and I'm sure that you're hungry after all."

Blinking, Jack placed a hand on his stomach, before nodding. "...yeah, I am kinda hungry." he nodded.

The two reached the pub, and entered inside. Jack found that this place had a lot of customers tonight, a good portion of them conversing amongst themselves and laughing; having a good time. Others just drank silently to themselves, looking around thoughtfully. No bad spirits seemed to linger here. Ani was busy behind the counters, concocting drinks and making dinner dishes.

"Found him," Hunter said, seating Jack on one of the stools at the counter.

Ani spun around and smiled. "Oh, hi Jack! Hungry?"

"A bit, yeah!" Jack nodded. "What can I pick from?"

"There's a lot, but I'd recommend a steak or a burger," Ani said with a grin. "They're the bomb!"

"Ooh, that sounds good!" Jack laughed, before nodding. "Alright; I'll have a burger, please!"

"Comin' right up!" Ani exclaimed, spinning around and returning to her duties. With a small smile, Jack eagerly awaited his order to come along.

"Hey, what are you, 3?" a random man asked Jack sitting next to him. "Quit jumping up at down in your seat for crying out loud..." This guy was a gazelle with big horns, and he looked pretty tough.

Jack blinked, as he looked at the gazelle. "...is something wrong?" he asked, tilting his head curiously.

"Yeah, you're acting like a little kid and its annoying," the gazelle grumbled. "So shape up."

"...well, no need to be so grouchy about it." Jack replied, looking back at the counter. "...not like anyone's commenting on you being irritable..." he murmured under his breath.

"What was that?" The gazelle questioned him quickly.

"...what was what?" Jack uttered cluelessly, glancing back at the gazelle.

The gazelle just looked at Jack. Eventually, he broke into laughter. "So, you act like a kid but you have the nerve to talk about me behind my back?" he chuckled. "What? You got something to say but you're too scared to say it?"

"I really have no idea what you're talking about." Jack said with a mild shrug. "So do you please think you can shut up and mind your own business? You're being annoying."

Ani shook a little hearing Jack say that. That wasn't like him at all.

"Oh really? ME, being annoying?" the gazelle laughed again. "You're the one who looks like he's sittin on the swing set waiting for his mommy!"

_...uh-oh,_ Ani thought suddenly, realizing that what happened last time was triggered when that guy said something about Jack's mom.

"...do you have a problem with that?" Jack uttered, as his tone suddenly became a lot darker. "Go on; say what you really feel, already."

"...Hank, I think you'd better watch what you say," Ani uttered.

"Aw, shut your pie-hole, Ani," the gazelle called Hank said. Then he presumed to egg on Jack's nerves, "Grow up boy and act your own age! Your mommy's not going to be around forever! And she sure as hell ain't here right now to make me stop, so there."

"...you know, her not being here right now is a good thing." Jack uttered, before grinning. "Because if she were... she'd scold me for doing this."

Then, as he turned away from Hank, he "accidentally" kicked out the leg of the stool the gazelle sat on, causing him to fall right on the floor.

"Oops." Jack uttered in a mock-innocent tone.

Hank jumped right back up on his feet in a fury, causing all the commotion in the bar to halt and direct attention right at the two of them. "A wise guy too, huh?" Hank snarled. "Fine!" Being the stupid one, he clenched up a fist to throw at Jack's face. Jack, however, calmly tilted his head so that the fist passed right by him.

"...now that's not nice." he chuckled, grabbing hold of Hank's arm. "And neither is this." Then, he simply chucked Hank right onto a nearby table, with relatively little effort.

Hank broke the table with his weight, ruining drinks and dinner for two other guys, and the moment Hank got up, the other two growled at Jack. Then they ran at him.

"'scuse me!" Jack laughed, as the moment the three got to him, he quickly planted his hands on their shoulders, vaulting himself over them so he landed behind them, before turning to face them. "...too easy." he chuckled.

"C'mere punk!" one of the dudes yelled, reaching to grab him.

However, as he tried grabbing him, Jack quickly grabbed hold of that arm, shooting his attacker a wicked grin. "...amateur." he chuckled, before swinging him right at Hank and the other one.

That knocked the three of them over the counter, and Ani ducked just in time for them to crash into the glass shelves of the different liquors and alcohols on there. It also had knocked over other drinks on the counters and made more customers mad. While Hank and the two dudes recovered and hopped over the bar counter, another customer grabbed one of the dudes and socked him in the face on his backside.

More people wanted to join the fight, rushing at either Hank and the guys or Jack.

"BARFIGHT!" called out a voice in the bar.

"Now THAT'S more like it!" Jack laughed, quickly elbowing one customer who tried attacking him in the gut.

Ani equipped a helmet on her head for safety. While she thought these barfights were always fun, the fact that Jack started it was very unsettling. Something was wrong with him...

The doors toward the bar flipped open and Striker and Milo rushed out.

"COOOOL!" Striker exclaimed excitedly. He ALWAYS wanted to see a barfight up close.

Milo, meanwhile, held his head in worry. "Oh no..." he groaned.

"Ah, Striker, Milo!" Jack laughed, waving at them whilst ducking under a thrown chair. "What took you two so long?"

"You're so lucky, Jack!" Striker called out, and then he noticed some guys coming at them. "Uh oh."

"Join the party kids!" A guy laughed, aiming to punch him. However, Striker had his aluminum bat out in a blink of an eye and he swatted the guy away from him and a cowering Milo.

"Good one!" Jack laughed, as he quickly leaped to stand on one hand, aiming a kick right in the face of another man who targeted him.

"Aw no..." Milo groaned again, diving behind the counter with Ani.

"Guess you're still a chicken after all these years," Ani chuckled.

"Please tell me that Jack didn't start this, did he Ani?" Milo whined.

Ani shot a look back at Milo, wondering why Milo would ask such a direct question like that. "...yeah, he did," she said suspiciously. "But why-"

"INCOMING!" Another guy crashed into more shelves over the counter, sending a shower of shattered glass upon the two of them. "Sorry about that!" Jack laughed, as he had been the one who threw that particular customer. Not that he seemed to mind though, as he quickly grabbed two people, slamming them head-first into each other.

Striker, in the meantime was going to town having the time of his life; swinging his bat back and forth. "HOME RUN!" he called out, after having lauched a guy clear across the bar with a swing.

The brawl was getting more and more out of control. Ani knew that she had to stop this now or they won't ever stop and Milo was just getting more and more scared while hiding underneath the counters. Just then, their prayers were answered and the entrance doors opened. Nobody in the bar really gave a damn who was standing there at the entrance, until they gave out a loud yell.

**"HEY!"**

Everything halted again; customers with bleeding noses, bruises, black eyes, all finally turned at the entrance to look at who gave the yell. When Striker got a peek at who it was, he dropped his baseball bat in fear. "Jill?"

Yes, Jill was standing there with her hands on her hips, looking at all of them sternly.

"...dude, did she just speak?" one customer uttered.

"No way...I thought she was mute!" another remarked.

"I can damn well speak, thank you!" Jill snapped, startling everyone in the bar. That's when Milo and Ani peeked their heads over the counter to see her. Milo noticed one detail about Jill that shook him up even more.

Her eyes were red.

Jack also seemed to notice that, and his eyes widened, though not in panic... but in glee. _...well, would you look at that. _he thought, folding his arms, whilst looking at Jill.

"Now!" Jill looked around. "Who's the ass that decided to start this?"

The crowd shrank away to the sidelines hurriedly, leaving only Jack standing there, looking back at her. Jill rolled her eyes. "Very funny...I happen to know that..." and she stopped when she took another look at Jack. Her anger seemed to melt away while she silently looked at him.

Jack simply gave her a nod, a clever smirk on his face.

Milo looked back and forth between Jack and Jill, and his own eyes widened. _Oh no, don't tell me... _he thought in disdain. He had the feeling that this would be the beginning of a much bigger mess.

"...you're really the one who started the fight?" Jill asked, folding her arms, trying to hide her slight anxiety.

"You'd better believe that I started the fight." Jack said, still not losing his smirk.

_...this is so creepy,_ Milo thought, shuddering. Ani noticed Milo shuddering, and wondered even more what was going on in that lion's head.

"...well, then, you'll have to come with me," Jill muttered.

"...by all means." Jack shrugged, as he walked over to Jill, giving her a nod. "Shall we?"

Jill nodded back, and then glared back at everyone in the bar. "As you were," she growled, shutting the entrance doors afterward.

Once she and Jack were gone, murmurs rose in the crowd in the bar, while everyone started getting the tables and chairs back in place. A good many of them were wondering who that lion was, while others were shocked at the fact that Jill had spoken; and so harshly nonetheless. Wasn't that woman a mother?

Striker went over to Milo and Ani. "...man, I forgot how scary Jill was when she was angry," he uttered.

"Same here," Ani remarked.

Milo was ready to have a seizure.

If only they knew the truth...

Outside, Jill was leading Jack away to somewhere else.

Glancing around him, Jack made sure that there wasn't anyone around to overhear them. "...not quite the way I thought we'd meet again." he hummed after a while.

"...I never even thought that we WOULD meet again," Jill murmured, stopping in an alleyway that was plenty private for them. "...at least, not until Jill died."

"For a while, I thought I had to settle for that... but thankfully, Jack decided to swing by the island, so I can get an outlet." Jack muttered, before he suddenly grabbed Jill in a hug. "...goddamn it, Callous, I've missed you!"

It caught her off her guard, but she held him tight. "...if only you knew how I felt, Johnny," Jill uttered.

"Oh, I can only imagine..." Jack muttered, still not letting go of her.

"...too bad we're in their bodies and not our own, though," Jill grumbled.

"Yeah; that's the one downside to all this." Jack muttered. "And I doubt that we can freely spawn new bodies..."

"...better than nothing though," Jill figured, looking up at Jack with her red eyes.

Looking back down at her, Jack smiled. "...yeah... better than nothing."

The Callous within Jill really wanted more from this than a hug, but she knew that anything could have an effect on these 'supposedly innocent' two they were housing. While she could care less; and actually enjoy scarring Jack and Jill, she knew it would only cause unnecessary problems. Joy getting involved in the drama somehow crossed her mind, and she sure as hell didn't want that.

"So what have you been up to?" she asked. "I clearly couldn't do very much stuck in Jill's head, but what's a gal to do, huh?"

"Well, I haven't been doing much. Mostly waiting for Jill to wind up dead." Jack shrugged. "...but I'd rather that she didn't die from some of the chumps on this island pushing their luck; I'm sure you wouldn't want that."

Jill scoffed, "Tch, no kidding. All they really succeed doing is pissing me off...they're just annoying."

"I noticed." Jack scoffed. "...though, I'd imagine that things have gotten more interesting, now that good ol' Toaster decided to swing by, right?"

Jill chuckled in amusement. "First he's crying over her dead body, and now look at them..."

"I can almost smell the irony cooking, already." Jack chuckled as well. "...but I do gotta hand it to him; living with that guy stuck in him for five years, without breaking down... Toaster's tough, to say the least."

"Yeah, well, let's just hope that Diablo dufus doesn't get his grimy hands on him and kill him to set that vampire free," Jill grumbled.

"Really, if that chump managed to kill Toaster, I'd be mighty disappointed." Jack muttered.

"...right..." Jill was having trouble again. She wanted to hold it back, and she knew that if she did this, they might never get a hold of themselves again. But she slipped. Jill grabbed Jack, and thrust her lips on his. It was only for a minute though until she finally she yanked herself away.

"...hmph...so much for controlling myself," she muttered under her breath.

Jack blinked, as he looked down at Jill. "...Callous..." he hummed.

Jill said nothing.

_...oh, the hell with this._ Before Jill would know it, Jack suddenly took hold of her, pulling her closer so he could kiss her as well. A minute afterwards, he pulled away as well. "...we're even." he mused, looking down at her.

A smirk crawled across her face. "...somehow, I still think that's unfair." And she pressed Jack against the wall in the alley, kissing him again. "...there."

"...oh, really now?" With a smirk of his own, Jack suddenly flipped around so that Jill was against the wall, kissing her once more. "There we go." he chuckled.

Jill chuckled back, pulling Jack even closer to herself where he had her pinned on the wall. "You sure like to push limits, Johnny," and she kissed him once more.

"Well, you know me, Callous." Jack chuckled, kissing her back.

Now Jill just wanted to do away with words and get to it, kissing Jack longingly. Jack, too, kissed Jill back longingly, wrapping his arms around her. Jill's hands dug up his back, thinking that Jack didn't do a bad job taking care of himself over the years, since she could feel how broad his shoulder blades were. As their bodies pressed against each other, Jack felt that Jill's breasts certainly had grown since last he saw her. Wasting little time, he sneaked in one hand to fondle them. Jill uttered out a moan of satisfaction. For so long she's wanted to do this... and she was slowly forgetting that this was Jill and Jack; beginning to think more along the lines of it being Callous and Johnny themselves...the same went for Jack...

So Johnny, as he was deepening the kiss between him and Callous, forced his tongue into her mouth. Callous welcomed it with pleasure, wrapping her arms around Johnny's neck and letting their tongues squirm playfully with each other. As the two made out, Johnny eventually slipped a hand under Callous' shirt, groping her from underneath that set of clothing. Callous moaned breathlessly, stroking Johnny's thighs in reply close to a particular spot. Letting out a moan as well, Johnny moved his other hand towards Callous' thighs, beginning to stroke them as well. Callous' hand wandered up his thigh and to his lower hip, pulling that closer to her. Allowing her to do so, Johnny began slowly circling a finger around her navel, moving ever closer to her pelvic area. Callous only quivered, wishing him to go farther and farther as she kissed him more aggressively. Feeling her grow hungrier, Johnny began kissing her with the same aggression as well.

Callous was slowly losing control altogether. She even started pulling off the green jacket. Johnny noticed this, and quickly began helping her remove it. Next was the top, and it was cold out, so she shivered a tad once that was taken off too; leaving the jeans the last remainder of clothing on Callous.

Would they really do it? Here in the alley?

Callous only thought, ..._why not?_

Johnny didn't seem to mind, as he kept kissing Callous, moving a hand to help Callous remove her jeans.

Callous took Johnny's hand, stopping him. Not because she didn't want him to help, but because she had conveniently spotted a door in this alleyway. "...look..." she whispered.

"...what do you know..." Johnny hummed, before he quickly took Callous, heading for the door. Through the door, they entered into a small room. Closing it behind them and turning the light on, they saw that all the room consisted of was a lamp, which was connected to the light switch...

...and a bed.

"...damn, we're lucky," Callous chuckled.

"...I'll say." Johnny chuckled, as he looked back at Callous. "Now... where were we?" he said, before he began kissing her again. Callous freely reached for the jeans on her and unbuttoned, pulling Johnny toward the bed. Letting her pull him towards the bed, Johnny began unbuttoning his own pants as well. They climbed onto the bed, him on top, before Callous decided to push down her pants and slip them off completely. Whilst she did that, Johnny slipped his pants off as well, before he began kissing Callous' neck, moving his hands across her entire body. Callous let out gasps at the goosebumps Johnny sent throughout her body.

* * *

**_"Well now, I don't think your readers should see this, JC. Very naughty..."_**

**_Wha? Callous? What're you-_**

**_"It'd be a lot better if you censored this, for the sake of those poor little sensitive readers."_**

***CENSORED CONTENT***

**_

* * *

_**

Johnny and Callous started calming down; the latter just trying to catch her breath. Johnny, while he had caught his breath, still quivered just a bit after that, as he simply looked at Callous.

"...that felt...SO good," Callous whispered.

"...it felt... amazing..." Johnny uttered, resting his head next to Callous. "...god, I've missed that feeling."

"...so have I," Callous muttered, staring up at the ceiling.

After a short while, Johnny glanced back at Callous. "...but I've missed you a lot more." he said.

Callous turned her head to him. "I missed you too. Sure, I won't admit it openly, but I missed you..."

"...that's good..." Johnny chuckled, placing his hand on Callous' cheek.

Callous smirked at tad. They remained like that for a while, simply looking at each other. Eventually, Johnny gave Callous a quick kiss on the lips. Callous returned it graciously.

"...well, as much fun as it would be to see their reaction to this," Callous murmured after the kiss. "I suppose we ought to get these two back before people start to question where they went."

"...seems that way." Johnny muttered, as he sat up, though still looking only at Callous.

"...what's that look for?" Callous asked with interest, slowly sitting up herself.

"Oh, nothing..." Johnny hummed, whilst nodding. "...save for the fact that you look stunning, Callous."

Callous smirked at that comment, certainly appreciating it. Then she shrugged, "Well, I can't really take the credit. This is Jill's body after all..."

"Well, you and Jill do look exactly alike." Johnny shrugged. "So if we had won out that battle five years ago, I'm sure you'd look just as good, if not even better, than Jill does right now."

"Oh, you sweet talker," Callous chuckled. "...I'll tell you something though...Jack's definitely your nephew." If Johnny knew what Callous meant.

Johnny simply chuckled at that. "I tell ya, if he wasn't mentally like a kid, I'd be surprised that he hadn't gotten himself a girl before this."

"Oh well. His loss," Callous chuckled in amusement. She snatched Jill's gray jeans from where she pushed them off, and pulled them back on. Chuckling, Johnny grabbed hold of Jack's black pants, pulling them on his own legs as well. Callous looked around for Jill's other clothes, and then remembered that they had been left outside. A glance out the door confirmed her memory. "Huh, silly me," she murmured. "Might have gotten carried away."

"...seems that way." Johnny hummed, as he got off the bed. "Want me to fetch them for you?"

"Would you?" Callous asked, batting her eyes at Johnny.

"Of course." Johnny chuckled, heading for the door. "It'll only take a sec." he said, before he ventured outside.

Callous' smirk faded a bit. Would this be the only moment she and Johnny ever have? Well, if it was...then Callous was secretly thankful that she had this chance, rather than letting it pass up.

Something caught her eye and she looked quickly around, but there was nothing. For a minute...she thought she saw a shadow. Why did she suddenly become a little uneasy? She folded her arms to hide her breasts, continuing to look around.

She had the feeling that she was being watched, and it wasn't a very good feeling at all.

"Got 'em." At that point, Johnny entered the room again, holding Jill's jacket and top in his hands. "All ready for..." Just then, he noticed that Callous seemed uneasy. "...something wrong?" he uttered.

Callous' expression remained unchanged, yet she lied, "...it's nothing." Seeing that Johnny had the rest of Jill's clothes, she took them and put them back on, warily looking in the corners of the room as she dressed.

"...it's gotta be something." Johnny noted, as he leaned against the wall whilst she got herself dressed. "Otherwise, you wouldn't have been looking around the room like that."

"...I just thought I saw something, but it was probably my imagination," Callous murmured. Mostly she was in denial herself, but she kept feeling like she was being watched.

"...really..." Johnny hummed, as he glanced around him, seeing nothing too noteworthy around them.

"...do you think we would have another opportunity like this, Johnny?" Callous asked with a sigh once she was dressed.

"...I hope so, but... I can't say for sure." Johnny muttered. "...but if nothing else... I'm glad we got this opportunity together."

"...me too," She turned to Johnny and gave him a soft, lingering kiss. Johnny said nothing, merely kissing her back. It felt like forever before Callous pulled away, and when she did, she turned out the door and left.

Johnny simply watched her leave, before sighing._ ...man... if we only had our own bodies... _he thought, before he began heading for the door as well._ ...yeah, right; like we'd get that lucky._

Once the two were gone from the alleyway itself, a pair of hand-like feet appeared hanging from the rooftop. Cal was looking down where they just were in shock. "...oh, hell no," he uttered. They didn't just do what he thought they did, did they? Jack and Jill?

No, it wasn't them per se. He overheard most of what they were saying, and the way they conversed was not like Jack and Jill at all. Somehow, it was Johnny and Callous.

Cal rubbed his eyebrows in irritation. It was hard enough to believe that Callous could still take over Jill, but now Johnny was back? And he could do the same with Jack? Surely if those two knew the things that Johnny and Callous just did, they'd flip. Course, there was no real reason to tell them. Cal would keep this secret to himself.

He also decided he'd follow Jack...or Johnny. Whoever was currently in control of that lion. Anyhow, it appeared that the lion was heading right back into the pub. Glancing around him, the lion eventually entered the pub, surveying how it looked since he had left.

The tables and chairs were back up, but somehow the bar was emptied out of customers. Milo and Striker were sweeping up shards of broken glass from the shelves, bottles and other various things that broke in the bar, while Ani patrolled dust pans around with her telekinesis.

Blinking, he looked around. "...hey, it wasn't this messy earlier! What happened?" Jack uttered, as he looked towards Striker, Milo and Ani.

That stopped the three of them dead in their tracks. "...you don't remember, Jack?" Striker uttered in disbelief.

"...remember what?" Jack uttered. "I remember that gazelle being a jerk... but nothing after that."

Milo frowned.

"...yeah, he was such a jerk that Hank tried to punch you," Ani answered. "And you just knocked him onto a table and broke it, starting a big fight in here."

"Is that what happened?" Cal asked, walking inside the pub while taking a look at the place.

"Yep," Striker said.

Jack blinked again, as he scratched his head... before reeling back in surprise. "EH? I CAUSED A FIGHT?" he yelled.

"Believe it or not Jack, you did," Striker said.

Cal looked over at Milo, and he was just minding his own business sweeping. Cal remembered that years ago Milo knew all along that Shadow's spirit hosted in Proxy, a Shadow andriod that broke free from Metal's control. Would he already know about Johnny in this case?

"Then Jill came and stopped all the fighting, and you left with her," Striker added.

"...okay..." Jack nodded, as he scratched the back of his head. "...sorry, Ani; I didn't mean to make a mess out of the pub..."

"Apology accepted," Ani said, smiling. "You still hungry for that burger Jack?"

"...kinda, yeah." Jack said with a small smile.

"Alright then. I'll make you one," And Ani withdrew the telekinesis to head to the back of the counter, near the cooking area.

"So Jack, have you heard that King's gonna make a big tournament?" Striker started up, eagerly wanting to change conversation to that.

Jack blinked, as he looked at Striker. "A tournament? Really?" he said curiously.

"Yeah!" Striker said, beaming. "He's gonna set it up so that it'll be in 3 days-"

"4 days."

"Huh?" Striker quickly turned to Cal.

"King changed it to 4 days," Cal repeated, "so that he could give everyone an extra day to train."

"Ooh, really..." Jack hummed, as he glanced at the group. "...do any of you guys plan on joining that?"

"Of course we're joining!" Striker exclaimed. "In fact, we wanted to know if you were going to join too!"

"Yeah Jack, it wouldn't be the same if all of us weren't in the tournament together!" Ani added with a giggle.

"Really?" Jack said with a grin. "Ooh, it sounds like a lot of fun..." However, he wasn't too sure if he should say yes or not; on one hand, the tournament sounded fun, but on the other hand, he did promise Oblivion and Charon that he would visit them tomorrow...

Milo stopped sweeping and looked over at Jack. While he could tell through his spirit that he was unsure, he wasn't a mind reader like Sage to tell what he was thinking. "...I guess you don't have to decide right away Jack," Milo told him. "You have 3 whole days to think about it."

"Yeah, that's true," Cal agreed.

"Oh, yeah, right." Jack said with a small laugh, scratching the back of his head. "I'll think about it."

"Alright then," Milo said, smiling a tad.

"Here you are!" Ani said, placing a plate on the counter that had a big, steaming burger on it.

"Ooh!" Jack exclaimed, quickly taking a seat, before biting down on the burger. "...mmmh! This is delicious, Ani!" he laughed once he swallowed what he had bitten out of it.

Ani grinned proudly.

* * *

"...hm?" Jill suddenly looked around, awakening from whatever trance she was in. She was back at the facility again, right smack in front of the door to her's, Joy's and Metal's room. When did this happen? She swore she was heading to the pub to say hi to Ani and the boys; and maybe check to see if Jack had come back yet.

She stood there a minute to try and recollect her thoughts. Jill remembered opening the doors, and seeing the brawl going on...

"...weird," she murmured to herself. While she would worry about this, she felt that she was much too tired to even think much. She was exhausted of her energy and she was aching again; the strange part being that she was also aching a little more in...unusual places.

All she needed was some rest, she told herself, so she pushed open the door to go inside.

Then Jill smiled at the sight she saw. Joy was fast asleep, sucking on her thumb and nuzzled up next to Metal whom was also asleep, though one could see a faint smile on his slumbering body. That, right there, warmed Jill's heart. She couldn't help but stare at that for a long time, while her thoughts wandered. Then she became a little sad.

...was Metal really willing to get into this? What about Metropolis? What about the Chaos Emeralds, that should still be there if she last remembered?

She stopped thinking when she saw Joy snuggle closer to Metal; the 3 year old growing a smile of her own. When she did that, Metal actually placed one of his arms across Joy, almost in a protective way.

Jill sighed...almost in a content, yet depressed way.

Instead of getting into the other empty bed, Jill carefully settled onto the same one with Metal and Joy, with Joy between her and Metal. She fingered Joy's hair a little, lovingly, and then she placed her head on the pillow to close her eyes.

"...night... Jill..." she suddenly heard Metal murmur in his sleep.

Jill cracked her eyes open a little, and reshut them, placing a hand on Metal's. "...good night, Metal," she mumbled.

* * *

**_"Awww...aren't they just adorable?"_**

**_Shut up Callous...  
_**


	15. Chapter 15

**_Alright, so if there are confusing details you don't get in this chapter, mosey off to the Training story and read yourself some of what happened._**

* * *

_**5 Years Later – Chapter Fifteen…**_

The morning sun was just creeping up over the horizon, letting a bright light shine down on the docks of Safe Haven. It had already been 3 days since King spread the word about the tournament, and everyone had been spending those three days as wisely as possible. Right now, it would be far too early for anyone to even consider waking up; even if the tournament today would've been a good incentive, it'd only start once the afternoon rolled around.

In spite of that, someone was already awake, strolling around the edge of the harbor.

"I doubt that the ferry's gonna show up today…" Lin hummed to herself, as she was looking out towards the horizon, rubbing her eyes a bit. "…though, with how people have gotten here lately, I wouldn't be surprised if a guest came, after all."

From out of the shack came Flamenco, stretching out his arms. "...Buenos Dias, Lin," he murmured, sitting beside her.

"G'mornin', Flammy!" Lin said with a small smile, turning to face the toucan. "Today's the day!" she added excitedly.

"Si, the tournament," the toucan said with a nod. "...but it is unfortunate that we will have to stay on guard duty during the tournament." Flamenco actually didn't sound disappointed. He didn't care either way if he could go or not.

"…eh, it's probably for the best." Lin shrugged, lifting her flail-arm a little. "I don't think I'd be allowed to join in regardless, seeing as this puppy could cave in a few skulls…"

"Si..." Flamenco said, taking a deep whiff of the fresh morning air as he laid back.

With a small hum, Lin looked out towards the sea, when she spotted something headed towards them. "…hey, I was right! We did get some guests!"

As it turned out, a red biplane was flying towards the docks, and though the pilot was obscured from view, one could see a slightly faded, yet prominent marking of two yellow tails on the sides of the plane.

"Lock, look!" Flamenco and Lin also heard a small voice exclaim, and when they looked toward the huge pirate ship parked at the dock, they saw a certain 3 year old with a tall bounty hunter. Joy was pointing to the biplane that was flying toward them.

"…what do you know…" the bounty hunter hummed, folding his arms. "…Joy, I think you're about to get a new friend, soon."

"Really?" Joy asked with an excited smile.

"Really." Lock nodded, as he watched the plane fly over them, seeing that it was visibly slowing down whilst it turned around, preparing to land by the docks.

Joy quickly ran following the plane, off the ship onto the docks. Before she got to far though, Flamenco grabbed her. "Hold on chica," he told her. "You don't want the plane to land on top of you."

"None of us would want that." Lock nodded, as he leaped off the ship, watching the plane eventually land without any problem, in spite of the runway being a bit unorthodox.

Once the plane's engine died out, the pilot wiped his forehead with a mild sigh, before he slowly disembarked, letting the group see who the pilot was; an elderly, two-tailed fox.

Joy stared at this two tailed in absolute wonder. This fox was so familiar looking, that it took a momentary flashback to remember why he was so familiar. It was the young two tailed fox that piloted that giant blue mech in the prisons that she saw.

"…the Pofessoh," she uttered.

Letting out a small sigh, the fox glanced towards Flamenco and Lin, not yet noticing the small ewe. "Hello, there." he chuckled. "How are you doing today?"

"We are doing well, thank you, Professor," Flamenco said with a nod.

Joy continued to stare up at him.

"Now, I need to wonder…" he chuckled, as he glanced at the pirate ship. "…but would Striker and the others happen to be onboard there?"

"You betcha, Tails!" Lin said with a grin. "They had a sleepover, if I recall correctly!"

"…hm…" With a mild hum, Lock glanced down at Joy, wondering if she was going to do anything besides staring at the Professor.

At some point finally, Joy took a few steps from Flamenco, and slowly approached the Professor; still eying him wonderingly.

Noticing that, Tails glanced down at Joy. While he did wonder who she was, just by looking at her, the Professor noticed something familiar about her. _…is she…_ Shaking off those thoughts, Tails smiled down at her. "Well, I don't think I've met you before, young lady. Who might you be?" he mused.

"...my name is Joy, and I'm 3 years old," Joy shuffled her feet shyly, almost forgetting to say that, yet she didn't look away from Tails. "...Strikoh telled me 'bout you, Pofessoh."

"Ah… so you know Striker." Tails chuckled. "…it's nice to meet you, Joy. My name is Miles Prower, but close friends call me Tails."

"...Tais..." she tried to say his name, but that was what came out. Even then, she smiled at Tails.

Smiling back at her, Tails rubbed her head a little.

"…why don't we go and wake the others up?" Lock suggested, looking down at Joy. "I'm sure they would like to meet the Professor as well. Don't you think so, too, Joy?"

"Oh, yeah!" Joy grew excited, and spun around to run out to the ship.

Flamenco chuckled. "The chica is obviously quite eager."

"So she is." Lock chuckled, as he followed Joy towards the ship.

Once the two were out of earshot, Tails closed his eyes, letting out a small sigh. "…three years old, huh…" he mused. "…has she been living here for all those years?"

Flamenco just looked at Tails. "...Si," he answered.

"…I see." Tails nodded, as he opened his eyes a little. "…then… how is her mother doing?"

Flamenco smiled a little. "She is doing well."

"…that's… good to know." Tails hummed, smiling a bit.

Joy and Lock reappeared on the deck of the ship, pointing at their direction while others rushed out. Striker, Milo, Tails Doll, Snap, and Whisker all were happy to see that Tails was here, standing there in their pjs and waving at him.

Ani was ecstatic.

"Professor!" she exclaimed, waving. "I haven't seen you in forever!" She jumped right off the ship and ran quicker than Joy did, throwing her arms around the old fox. "It's SO good to see ya!"

Ani throwing her arms around Tails surprised the old fox, causing him to laugh as he hugged Ani back. "My, how you've grown, Ani!" he said in a jovial tone.

"Wow, it's so cool that you're here, Professor!" Striker said, once he and the others finally caught up with Ani.

"Well, I had to see how you all were doing." Tails chuckled. "It's been about a week, now, hasn't it?" he added, before he glanced at the others. "…where's Jack?"

"_He's camping." _Tails Doll shrugged.

"Yeah, he's been really interested in exploring the island lately," Ani said.

"Oh yeah, that reminds me!" Striker said with a grin. "We did some exploring ourselves, a few days ago, and we found Gerald's old prison cell, Professor!"

"…is that so?" Tails Doll hummed. "How interesting; I had no idea that it survived the Prison Base exploding."

"Aye, an' Snap 'ere got some pictures of it!" Whisker chimed in, patting the smaller robot's back.

_"Would you like to see them?"_ Snap asked Tails.

"If I'm allowed to see them, then yes." Tails chuckled with a small nod.

"Of course you're allowed, Professor!" Striker laughed.

* * *

"...ow..." Dear Lord, how her head hurt. Jill's eyes were pretty much sealed shut, because there was no way her eyes could take the sight of any light brighter than what lit up a cave, which was no light whatsoever. She couldn't even pull herself up off of the pillow. In fact, she took it and buried her head underneath it. Last night was, again, one of the stupidest things she did. She would think that last time she had a hangover like this, she'd learn from it. Ani would have some answering to do when they see her. It was her fault that she got Metal and her drunk last night.

Then again, Jill would be the least of Ani's worries. Metal, on the other hand, had more to drink than her, and if Jill was feeling this bad...

"…OW." she heard Metal groan bluntly, as he was squirming around in the bed, a hand held against his head. _…seems like I completely disregarded what I told Snap on our first day-_ "OW." Even thinking about how foolish he had been for letting himself get that wasted brought more pain to him.

Metal's complaints hurt Jill's head by just hearing them and she moaned in agony underneath the pillow. He tried keeping his groans quieter, but the pain kept hammering his head like nothing he could ever imagine… of course, imagining it now would only be more painful for him.

Jill placed a hand on his arm and peeked out at him from underneath the pillow with a tight squint. "...remind me...never to drink again," she whispered.

"…right…" Metal nodded, as he turned his head so he could look at Jill. "…just as long as… you do the same with me. " he whispered.

Jill dropped the pillow back down, darkness overtaking her so her eyes didn't hurt, and the softness of the pillow managed to drown out her hearing, so she calmed a little. She kept her hand on Metal's arm, eventually stroking her thumb on it. That action did seem to help Metal take his mind off his throbbing headache, if only just a little. Closing his eyes, he set his other hand on her arm as well.

Jill was trying to think through her headache, which wasn't really such a good idea. Still, she remembered that she said something to Metal last night, but she couldn't remember what she said. For some reason, it was bugging her. While he wasn't thinking it, Metal, too, had a nagging feeling that he had said something to Jill the previous night, but what it was, he couldn't recall it just yet.

Jill ended up just giving up on thinking for the moment. If it was really important, she was sure that she'd remember once the headache was gone. The two of them laid there quietly, appreciating the silence while they drifted on that borderline of being awake, and dozing.

"...Metal, did I say something to you last night?" she asked, after her headache faded a bit and she could think without too much trouble.

"…probably…" Metal replied with a low hum. "…funny that you should ask; I was wondering if I said something to you last night as well."

Jill remained quiet a little longer.

"…something on your mind, Jill?" Metal inquired after a while.

"I..." Jill finally remembered what she said, and it was a bit surprising for her.

"…Jill?" Metal uttered, tilting his head a bit.

She pulled the pillow off and looked at Metal with her surprised look. "...I think I told you that I loved you."

"…really?" Metal uttered, sharing that expression for a short while, before it changed into a thoughtful one. "…you know…" he hummed, before he looked back at Jill. "…I think… I told you that I loved you, too."

Jill blushed, and her eyes looked away shyly. For awhile now, it had been a given that the two felt that way about each other, but to actually say it was a little...embarrassing for her at first.

"…is everything alright, Jill?" Metal uttered, as he tilted his head again.

"...yeah, it's alright," Jill said. She winced a little, because the headache reminded her of its presence. "I guess I was a little..." she was thinking of the right word to say. "...amazed."

"…really…" Metal hummed, letting that sink in for a bit. "…amazed…" Then, he managed a small smile. "…that's a good thing, at least."

Jill smiled too. "...yeah..."

Seeing Jill smile seemed to help Metal ignore his headache further, as he simply looked at the ewe in silence. Jill stared back, until she put an arm around him and hugged him warmly. Metal hugged her back.

"...well, I guess it's true," she said, smiling again.

"…yeah." Metal nodded with a smile of his own.

* * *

A cold shiver is what woke up Oblivion this morning, but she didn't open her eyes. She only shifted and turned over so that she could get warm next to Charon. Growling, Charon rested one of his heads on Oblivion's shoulder, still fast asleep.

Jack, in the meantime, let out a small yawn, as he slowly opened his eyes, before looking at both Oblivion and Charon. _...I hope that Oblivion won't be too disappointed when she wakes up…_ he thought, rubbing his eyes. _I think I managed to fall asleep when she was gonna tell me how she met Charon…_

Oblivion heard movement so she opened her eyes to look. "Oh, good morning Jack," she muttered. At least it was just him and not someone else.

Blinking, Jack glanced back at Oblivion, before giving her a small smile. "I didn't notice that you weren't asleep." he said with a nod. "Mornin', Oblivion. Charon's still sleeping, huh?"

Oblivion glanced over. "It would appear so," she replied. She didn't move, since Charon was so comfortable, so she only glanced at Jack. "How did you sleep?" she asked.

"I slept really well, actually." Jack said with a smile, taking care not to raise his voice. "And I guess that you two slept well, too?"

Oblivion smiled. "Yeah."

"That's good to hear." Jack nodded. "Also, good thinking; since you two slept so close together, I bet you're a lot warmer than me." he added with a small laugh.

Oblivion laughed quietly, "oh, were you cold Jack?"

"I just noticed when I woke up." Jack replied sheepishly, scratching his cheek. "But I'm sure that I'll heat up later today." he added with a laugh.

"Well, what do you plan on doing today?" Oblivion asked curiously.

"Me?" Jack hummed, as he tapped his chin a little. "Well… I was thinking of maybe hanging out more with you and Charon, today! With everyone busy with the tournament, maybe we could go exploring a bit later on?"

Oblivion thought about that. "...I don't know about exploring," she said. After all, it was risky for her and Charon to be out in the open.

"…hmm…" Jack hummed. "…but we gotta think of something to do, since everyone on the island might show up for the tournament but you two…"

"...I'm sure we'll figure something out, Jack," Oblivion promised.

"…yeah, we'll see if that works." Jack nodded, smiling a bit.

Just then, Charon stirred, as he slowly blinked, letting out a mild growl. Oblivion looked up at him. "Good morning, Charon," she said.

With a small growl, Charon looked at both Oblivion and Jack. "…good morning, both of you." he hummed. "What time is it?"

"It's fairly early in the morning." Jack replied, as he glanced out of the cave.

"…I see…" Charon mused, nodding a few times.

Oblivion stood up and stretched, looking outside of the cave. "I presume that Spiel and all of his followers are in the tournament as well…" which meant they didn't have to worry so much about anyone coming up here by accident.

"…that leaves us on our own for the day…" Charon mused.

"Mhm." Jack nodded, as he and Charon glanced out of the cave, too.

* * *

Joy was actually holding Tails by the hand, sucking on a thumb, while the group of them headed into town. Tails, after all, had to pay a visit to everyone else and make his greeting before the excitement of the tournament started. As for the old fox, he was busy glancing around him to take in the scenery. Time and again, he would call either Sage or Queen, asking how things on the island were going… but this was the very first time he had actually seen Safe Haven up close.

It was quite astonishing, to put it mildly.

"I'm sure that King and everyone else are at the facility," Ani said, "so let's head there." And she led them to the said building, walking inside.

"Isn't this cool, Professor?" Striker asked.

"…it is." Tails chuckled.

"_Man… I wonder how everyone's gonna react to seeing you, Professor!"_ Tails Doll laughed.

"I'm sure they'll be really happy to see you Professor," Ani said with a smile, reaching a particular door. There was a window to this one, and when peeking in, she could see that King and his group were, in fact, in there. Tasha was there as well, and it looked like all of them were talking.

"Alright, le's greet 'em!" Whisker called, moving to open the door.

"Now, now, Whisker." Tails said, placing a hand on the pirate robot, before walking towards the door. "It pays to be polite." With that, he gently knocked on the door. Hunter glanced over, and looked at all of them through the window with a pleasant smile; especially Tails. Then he came and opened the door for them to come in.

"Well, I didn't expect to see you, Professor," he said cheerfully.

"…it's good to see you too, Hunter." Tails chuckled, as the group was allowed into the room.

"Well, look who's here!" Ripper cackled, as he glanced towards the doorway.

"Professor." Queen hummed, giving the old fox a nod. "Welcome."

"Holy… Professor!" King laughed, quickly getting on his feet upon seeing Tails. "What a surprise! I haven't seen you in a long while!"

"Yeah, he flew here and everything," Milo said.

"I see you are an old friend of theirs," Tasha said, walking up to Tails. "Pleasure to meet you, Professor. My name is Tasha."

Giving her a nod, Tails took her hand and shook it. "The pleasure is mine." he said. "My name is Miles Prower, but friends call me Tails."

"Your timing is pretty good, Professor," Hunter said. "Later today we're going to have a tournament that we've been planning for a few days, now."

"Is that so?" Tails hummed, tilting his head.

"Yeah, that's right!" King laughed. "The soldiers around the island needed to unwind a little, so we figured that the tournament would be a perfect way to let them get their mind off things."

"Are you gonna watch the tournament, Pofessoh?" Joy asked him.

Humming, Tails eventually nodded, glancing down at Joy. "I do need to see how it'll play out." he chuckled.

Joy smiled up at him.

"Well, are you guys hungry at all?" Ani asked. "Cause we could all head down to the pub and I'll brew up a big breakfast for everybody."

"…well, I wouldn't say no to something to eat." Tails chuckled, giving Ani a nod.

"I suppose some of us could use a bite to eat, as well." Sage noted, as she rubbed her beak. "Let's see… Queen, Hunter and myself could go for something to eat."

"And my best guess is that teams Alpha and Chaotix will be hungry when they get up," Hunter added.

"Okay then, follow me," Ani said with a smile, turning around and walking away.

With a nod, Tails, Queen and Sage walked after Ani.

"_Man, the tournament's gonna be really fun!"_ Tails Doll laughed, as he fluttered over to King. _"So, when's it gonna start?"_

"It's not gonna start yet." King said with a chuckle. "We got to let everyone wake up first, and prepare for the whole thing to start."

"Well, I'm going to get some breakfast too," Milo said, but Striker took off first.

"Hey, wait up Ani!"

Milo chuckled, watching the bear run after them. Shortly, he started off himself.

* * *

Yawning, Newt scratched the back of his head. "Man… today's the day…" he murmured drowsily.

"You can say that again…" Natal nodded, rubbing her temples in an attempt to properly wake up.

At least Ani was there starting the breakfast up when they entered the pub. "Hi Ani," Rudy waved.

And suddenly, all five of them stopped short. "...Professor?" the kangaroo uttered.

"…ah, good morning to you all." Tails chuckled, as he, along with Queen, Hunter and Sage, already sat by the counter, awaiting breakfast.

Seeing the old fox sitting there certainly made Newt and Natal properly wake up, both of them simply looking at him in disbelief. Boomer was the first one to grow a smile, and take a seat next to Tails. "It's good to see you, Professor," she said.

"Hi Boomer!" Joy said, pulling her head back to see her. Turns out, Joy was sitting next to Tails on the opposite side.

"Oh, so Joy's awake, too." Natal hummed, as she slowly grew a smile of her own. "Nice to see you up, today."

"She's quite charming, isn't she?" Tails chuckled, rubbing Joy's head a little.

"Yeah, she's so cute!" Rudy said, taking a seat next to Sage.

"...It's nice to have you here, Professor," Cal said, sitting next to Queen. "...The Captain was still asleep the last I checked, but I'm sure he'll wake up soon."

"Ah, so Charmy's here?" Tails hummed. "That's good to know."

Cal looked back and forth between Tails and Joy. If they met, then Tails surely must know that Jill was here too, or at least assume it. Still, he wondered what would happen if Jill found out Tails was here...

...and that would be answered shortly, because in the back hallway, another door opened. Jill was the first to step out, rubbing her temples because the headache was still there, although it wasn't as bad as it was when she first woke up. Metal followed her, rubbing his own head as well with a light yawn. She saw that the other doors were open too. "...looks like the others are already awake," she murmured.

"…seems that way." Metal nodded, as he glanced at Jill. "I suppose they're eating breakfast at the moment."

"...I hope we didn't act ridiculous in front of everyone else last night," Jill moaned, wiping her eyes uneasily.

"…hopefully, we didn't…" Metal murmured, scratching his cheek a bit.

Jill then turned down the hall to head to the pub, with Metal following, of course. The two didn't want to walk in there if everyone was sitting in the pub, but they did so anyway.

Joy was the first one to notice them walk in, and with a happy smile, she jumped off the bar stool she was sitting on to go grab Jill in a hug, "Mama!"

Jill certainly didn't expect to see Joy here, but she smiled and knelt down to hug her daughter back. "Good morning Joy," she said. "Did you have fun at your sleep over?"

"M-hm," Joy said. "And guess what Mama? Somebody else came to visit all us! Look!"

Jill looked up, and that's when she fearfully froze with a gasp.

Metal blinked, as he glanced at where Jill was looking, before his own eyes widened in surprise. "…Tails…?" he uttered.

Tails, in the meantime, merely looked at Jill in surprise. Not because it had been the first time in three years since he saw her, and not because Metal was in her company, but because she was able to speak. "…Jill… Metal… good morning." he eventually said with a nod.

"..Professor..." Jill slowly stood back up with her eyes locked on Tails, still utterly petrified. Everyone looked at Jill worriedly, wondering how she was going to react. To be honest, Jill didn't know how to react. Long ago, she practically ran away from them. It was heart-warming to meet Striker and the others, and a little easier for Jill to see them maybe because they were younger and they didn't understand.

With Tails...she felt scared, and deep down, maybe a little ashamed of what happened years ago.

"...Mama, what's wrong?" Joy asked, tugging on Jill.

Glancing from Jill to Tails, Metal tried hiding his concern, as he waited to see what sort of reaction would come from this.

Tails, in the meantime, kept looking at Jill while retaining a neutral expression, making it hard to read what he truly felt at the moment. There was nothing but awkward silence for a moment, and then Tails stood up from his seat, still looking at Jill. Jill watched him like a hawk, remaining perfectly still. Strangely enough, Tails just standing up like that made her more afraid. Now on his feet, Tails slowly began walking towards Jill, around the counter. If they weren't looking at Jill's expression, the majority of the group's gaze was directed right at the old fox, who remained neutral in his expression.

Jill quickly averted her eyes when she saw Tails coming toward her, but she still stayed where she was. Soon, he came to a halt, when he stood right in front of the ewe, his expression remaining unchanged. Joy looked up between her mother and Tails without a clue of what was going on. Jill was still too afraid to look back at Tails. No one made any form of sound at all, waiting for something to happen when they looked between Tails and Jill.

After awhile, something did happen, though not something most of them would have anticipated.

Tails took hold of Jill, hugging her. "…it's good to see you again… Jill." he said.

Jill's reaction took more than a second to process, but once it did, she hugged him back. "...you too Professor," she muttered shakily. Everyone could only blink at this, as they merely looked at the two.

"...Mama," Joy tugged on Jill again, pulling her away from Tails and down on her knees to meet her daughter. She could see that Jill was trying to hold back some tears, so Joy wiped them away for her with a smile. "...don't be sad," the 3 year old said. "The Pofessoh is a fwiend, right? So you gotsa be happy."

Jill nodded in reassurance, managing a smile. "...don't worry Joy...I'm happy."

Hearing her say that, Tails closed his eyes, managing a smile.

…_he doesn't seem upset whatsoever…_ Metal noted mentally, glancing from Jill to Tails. _…that's… good, I suppose,_ he thought, smiling.

Jill stood back up again, and glanced at everyone. "...I didn't mean to hold things up," she muttered.

"...well, you haven't seen the Professor in awhile, right?" Striker said with a shrug. "I'm sure that...you know, it'd take a little bit to say hi, I'm sure." It wasn't the best way to lighten up the mood, but Striker tried.

"…he has a point." Tails noted, glancing back at Striker with a smile, before he walked over to his seat. "For now… let's eat. I'm sure that we'll have time to catch up afterward."

"...right," Jill agreed, taking Joy to the counter by a hand, but she waited for Metal before she would sit down. With a small nod, Metal walked over to the counter as well, taking himself a seat. Once Metal was seated, then Jill sat down beside him.

"So, Striker, you guys gonna fight in the tournament?" Rudy asked.

"Just me and Ani," Striker replied casually. "Milo's not much of a fighter, and...I'm still not sure why Jack has been gone so much, but he seems to be more interested in wandering around the island."

"…really, now?" Queen hummed, as she glanced at Striker. "I thought he'd be busy playing with you guys."

"Whatever the case, I have a feeling that he'll tell us what he's been up to when the time's right." Sage noted, as she closed her eyes.

"...yeah," Milo was second in that motion, taking a sip of a beverage he had with him on the table.

Finally the last one to rise from sleep walked into the pub from the hall, and Charmy took a lazy yawn. "I sure hope I haven't slept in too late. I-Tails?" The old bee had the same reaction as the others when he saw Tails sitting at the counter, but he lit up with a grin, and came over to pat Tails on the back. "Well, it's a pleasure to see you here, Tails!"

"Same to you, Charmy." Tails chuckled, glancing up at the bee.

"Today sure is going to be something to look forward to," Charmy laughed, giving one more pat on Tails' back before he took a seat. Then he realized his loud voice was hurting Jill's and Metal's headaches. "Oh, I'm sorry you two," he said sheepishly. "I didn't know you had such a rough time last night."

Jill just turned away uncomfortably when he said that. Metal, in turn, glanced away from Charmy as well.

_...hm, they sure are the talkative types,_ Charmy thought to himself, and then shrugged.

"You want some breakfast, Captain?" Ani asked, just placing dishes out to Sage, Queen, Tails, and her father.

"I'd love some, thank you Ani," Charmy answered.

* * *

"Any reports of strange activity?" Tasha asked, standing outside of the facility.

"Not so far," a soldier replied. "We still haven't found any signs of Diablo, Raider, OR Kiri. It's like those two disappeared off the face of the island."

"…hrm…" Miser hummed, as she folded her arms. "…well, they have to be somewhere on the island. Neither Flamenco or Lin have reported about anyone leaving the island."

"Kekekeke… they're quite the sneaky ones…" Ripper murmured.

"...what about anything concerning the creature everyone's talked about?" Tasha asked again.

The soldier shook his head. "Nothing."

Hearing that, Miser sighed. "…once the tournament concludes, we need to let Sage try and find them…" she muttered. "That's probably the only way we're going to be able to find them, at this point…"

"If I may, I'd like to get back to my duties," the soldier said.

"Oh, yes, by all means," Tasha said with a nod. "Thank you for answering some questions..." watching the soldier walk off, she bit her lip. "...this just makes things worrisome," she said. "These days of inactivity builds more paranoia."

"Kekeke… and since we don't know what they could be planning…" Ripper murmured, shuddering a bit.

"…any luck?" At that point, King entered outside from the facility, looking at the three of them.

"…not in the slightest, King." Miser sighed, as she glanced back at the tiger. "There hasn't been any sign of Diablo, Raider, Kiri or the monster whatsoever."

"Not even my father or his scouts have found their trail," Tasha added. "Some are starting to think that Diablo might stir during the tournament when everyone is gathered in one place and security is short..."

"…if he does that…" Miser muttered, shaking her head.

"…though, thankfully, there are some who won't be attending the tournament." King said. "Me, Miser and Sage have to be at the tournament to monitor things, and in Miser's case, commentate on the fights."

"Though, that still leaves me, Hunter and Queen, kekekeke…" Ripper noted.

"Right." King nodded. "I know for sure that Queen will keep a sharp eye around the place, but even she can't be everywhere."

"I'll also be on the lookout, shifting back and forth between here and the jungle," Tasha said; "just in case I may encounter them that way."

"So if we do it like this…" King hummed, rubbing his hands together. "…then they won't be able to do a single thing regarding the tournament without any of us noticing it."

"Well then, the afternoon is coming around pretty soon," Tasha said. "You may want to go ahead and start it up. I'm sure everyone is awake by now."

"Yeah." King nodded. "Once Sage finishes eating, I'll have her give the signal that the tournament's about to begin."

* * *

Finally, the time of day came, and everyone on the island rushed eagerly to the large Battle Arena impatiently, filling the seats up quite quickly. At least Snap managed to get front row seats for him, Whisker, Tails and Joy, the last whom was sitting on the old fox's lap. She couldn't wait to watch her mom and Metal battle.

"Alright, ladies and gentlemen!" Once the seats were filled, Miser stepped out onto the arena, microphone ready in her hand, as she waved at the eager audience. "We've given everyone three days to get ready, and now we're all set for this tournament! I hope all of you are ready, because this is gonna be a blast!" The crowd instantly erupted in cheer upon hearing that. "Alright! Without further ado, let's get our first match rolling!"

The two combatants walked out from opposite entryways of the arena.

Seeing that one of them was her mother, Joy bounced in Tails lap excitedly. "Yay Mama!" she tried to cheer over the crowd, so Jill could hear her. And she did, giving them a wave as she stepped onto the arena.

Her opponent happened to be a stag, who seemed to be a fairly pompous character with the way he brushed dust off his impressive antlers. "…Condit, I presume." he hummed dryly.

Jill nodded. She planned not to talk for the preliminary rounds for a number of reasons; mainly because she didn't want to handle the crowd's reaction when they find out that the rumors of her being able to talk were true. That, and there was really no need for her to talk.

"…very well." the stag scoffed, before motioning for Jill to come at him. "Let's see how strong you are."

"Alright, our combatants are ready for the fight to begin!" Miser called, hearing the excited cheers from the crowd. "So, without further ado… LET'S BATTLE!"

Jill got into a stance, and motioned for the stag to come. The stag simply cracked his neck, before he rushed right at Jill, intending to ram her with his antlers. Jill put her hands forward, and stopped the stag right where he was, holding him by the antlers.

The stag simply hummed at this. "…impressive…" he hummed, before stomping his foot into the ground. "…but a rookie blunder." Then, he began shaking his head violently about, to throw Jill off him.

Jill held on tight. _C'mon, you don't think Brick taught me how to ride at the rodeos?_ she thought to herself.

"…you're persistent…" the stag hummed, before he suddenly stopped. "Commendable." he mused, before he suddenly began swinging his head around again, this time, aiming to slam Jill against the ground.

Jill threw her legs a direction, and instead of being slammed down on the ground, she was on her feet. Then with incredible strength, she was the one who picked out the stag and threw him on the ground, harshly. The stag seemed to bounce off the ground a few times after Jill threw him to the ground like that, but he was quick to get on his feet.

"…feh… you're a tough one…" he coughed, wiping a little blood off his lips.

Jill folded her arms, making not much of a response to him. She just watched him to see what move he was going to make next. "…if that is the case…" the stag mused, as he grabbed a pair of his antlers. "…perhaps I should refrain from holding back." As he said that, he pulled off the antlers he held, wielding them like knifes. "Your move, Condit."

It wouldn't be smart running at someone with weapons like that, but Jill was pretty bold. When she ran at him, she threw a punch. However, the stag simply stepped away from the punch, before aiming a quick swipe of one of his antlers at Jill.

Her arm got cut in the process of trying to block the antlers, and she winced while she stepped away.

"Mama!" Joy was startled to see her mom get hurt like that.

"…hmph." Without any regard for Jill's well-being, the stag ran at her, relentlessly swiping his antlers at her.

Jill continued to evade, thinking on how she was going to approach this without getting hurt. At some point, she managed to grab both antlers, keeping him at bay. What the stag suddenly noticed is that the cut on her arm suddenly shrank and disappeared. Noticing that, the stag blinked. _…what on earth…?_ he thought, as he tried getting his antlers out of Jill's grip. Jill didn't let go. Then she hoped to pull away the antlers, but his grip remained as strong as hers, rendering them both immobile. "…tsch…" the stag scoffed.

Jill grit her teeth. For an instant, she finally let go of the antlers, but in a split second, she tucked her foot underneath his to trip him, while simultaneously slamming her hand into his chest. This would likely throw him onto the ground in seconds. Indeed, the stag was slammed right into the ground, having the air knocked straight out of him.

Jill kept him pinned down, and she managed to make it to Miser's mark, winning the match. The crowd cheered wildly; especially Joy, who started hopping in Tails' lap again. "You did it Mama! You did it!" she chirped.

"She certainly did." Tails hummed with a chuckle.

"And there we have it, folks! What a match!" Miser called, as Jill and the stag left the arena. "Now, let's not waste time; have our next combatants step up!"

As she said that, two new fighters stepped out into the arena; one of them being Krieg, who now had ten swords around his waist and on his back. The other was that falcon with the leather coat, the one who tried to hit on Jill last night at the pub. The two of them made eye contact for a moment, allowing Jill to recognize him anyway, but when he gave her a smirk, she just looked away in disinterest. The falcon shrugged, and made his way to the arena. Once the two stopped, Miser finally gave the signal for the two of them to begin. Even then, however, Krieg remained stationary.

The falcon tossed off his coat, and a series of girl's excited screams came from the audience. "Alright then, let's get on with it," he said with a smirk, running at Krieg with a punch. However, the punch was held off by Krieg simply grabbing the falcon's hand, keeping him at bay.

"?" the falcon tried to pull his fist away, but found that Krieg had a firm grip.

"…is that all?" Krieg hummed, sighing a little. "Pity; another pushover, it seems…"

"Hey, I'm no pushover!" the falcon yelled, throwing a kick. However, Krieg simply grabbed that leg with his other hand, before he threw the falcon so that he spun in mid-air before hitting the ground. The audience uttered cringing responses when the falcon hit the ground, and with Krieg's strength, he couldn't even get back up, allowing Krieg to win the match by default.

"…well, that was a quick one, people!" Miser called, as Krieg picked the falcon up, before leaving the arena with him; at least showing him that much respect. "So, let's move on!"

The next two fighters entered the arena, and one of them, this time, was Hex, who just took a drag from her pipe, before she looked towards her opponent.

The other was a gorilla; the very same one, in fact, that participated in the battling of the night all the newcomers first came to the island, losing to Sonia. Blitz, being the name he was called by someone in the audience, took his place on the arena and looked Hex over.

"….mmmh…" Hex hummed, as she inspected Blitz. "…you're quite a catch." she chuckled, folding some of her tentacles once Miser gave them the signal. "How about you join me for the night once the tournament concludes?"

"Hey now, don't distract me while the tournament's going," Blitz chuckled; actually tickled by Hex's suggestion. "Your move."

"Very well; your loss." Hex chuckled, as she began moving towards Blitz, shaking her hips as she got closer to him. Blitz actually got distracted, eying Hex's movements with interest. Seeing his reaction, Hex smirked. "…silly boy." she chuckled.

At that point, she had gotten close enough for some of her tentacles to ensnare Blitz's legs, forcing him to topple over on his back.

"OOF!" Embarrassed that he lost focus, Blitz tried to get up quickly and keep his distance away from Hex.

Hex merely chuckled at Blitz's reaction, as she began advancing towards him again, moving her hips about once more. It was tempting still, but Blitz worked more on focusing, running to throw a punch at Hex.

That, however, proved to be a mistake, as one of Hex's tentacles suddenly wrapped around Blitz's arm, stopping his assault. "…mmmh… naughty boy." she chuckled, waggling a finger at him.

Blitz couldn't pull his arm out, and couldn't help but feel a little panicked, though he tried to hide it. "Mmmh… this is far too easy." Hex chuckled, as her tentacle coiled itself further along Blitz's arm. "…though, even the easiest encounters have some charm to them." Then, she began slowly twisting his arm, and with her firm grip, he was unable to break free. Blitz let out a pained cry, scaring Joy enough that she hid her eyes in Tails' shoulder. To think, that Hex could have done something like that to her two days ago...

Setting a comforting hand on the little ewe, Tails looked back at the fight, if one could even call it that at this point.

"Mmmh… that's good." Hex chuckled, before two more of her tentacles wrapped around Blitz's legs, causing him to topple over again. "I love those cries of pain… they're so satisfying." Blitz didn't bother fighting it while caught up in the pain of his arm, so he didn't get up in time, and he lost the match.

With a smirk, Hex began walking off, shooting Blitz a glance. "I'll see you later." she chuckled, before leaving.

Once Blitz got off the arena, the next one in first was Ani. She waved eagerly to the excited audience all around her that roared. Her opponent happened to be a middle-aged mandrill, who merely gave Ani a nod once Miser set off the fight.

"Good luck," Ani said, rushing at the mandrill with a flying kick. The mandrill quickly ducked underneath the kick, before he took something out from his jacket; namely, a lighter. Quickly pointing his wrist at Ani, he held the lighter up to it, before lighting it, which actually sent a stream of blue fire from his wrist, aimed right at her.

"EEP!" Ani jumped away as quickly as she could, although she didn't get away without her tail catching on fire. "OW! OW OW OW OW!" She ran around the arena and spun in circles, trying to put the fire out. The audience laughed.

Seeing this, the mandrill sighed, as he fiddled a little with his lighter, casually observing the small flame flickering in it. "…stop, drop and roll." he suggested in a friendly tone.

"Oh, forgot!" And Ani did what the mandrill suggested, getting back up and looking at her tail with a whimper. The tip was all black.

"…my condolences." the mandrill sighed, as he twirled the lighter around in his hand. "Let us hope that you will not suffer any worse burns." he added, before he took something else from his jacket; a flask. Taking a swig from it, the mandrill glanced at Ani, before holding his lighter up to his mouth, lighting it, and spitting out what he had been drinking from the flask, creating a larger, purple flame that shot at Ani.

Ani rolled out of the way this time. She was hoping that she didn't have to use her telekinesis, so instead she jumped over to deliver another flying kick.

This time, she struck her target, sending the mandrill flying across the ground, though he managed to plant his hands into the ground, before regaining his footing. Quickly, he began moving his hands about in intricate patterns, before he pulled out his lighter. "At least we will provide the audience with entertainment." he mused, before creating a flickering flame from the lighter, suddenly revealing a burning, serpentine being composed of green flames before him, which lunged right at Ani.

"That's SO not fair," Ani muttered. Then again, she could stoop to his level. Standing her ground and waiting for the fire snake to come, she clapped when it got close enough. Now, this was no ordinary clap. Just a single clap created a powerful enough force to send a psychic wave, which disintegrated the snake on impact. The audience was in awe.

Even the mandrill was impressed. "…how extraordinary," he commented, before lifting up his arm again, using his lighter to summon forth another stream of blue flames from his wrist at Ani.

Ani decided she'd just block the flames with her telekinetic barriers, then when she had an opening, she directed another teleclap right at the mandrill himself.

The force of the blow knocked the mandrill straight off his feet, sending him tumbling to the ground. This time, he didn't get up in time before Miser finished counting him down, thereby losing the match.

"Yes!" Ani threw her fist up in the air while the audience applauded, and as she ran off the arena, she ran into Striker. The two of them exchanged a fist bop. "Great job out there," Striker said.

Ani smirked. "Thanks, and good luck to you," she said, waving to him while he walked onto the arena.

Once Striker got out onto the arena, he quickly saw his opponent; a female bobcat, who seemed to be a few years younger than Striker, wearing an oversized helmet covering her eyes, along with a varied assortment of airsoft guns on her person, along with the proper ammunition for those weapons. "Good luck!" she said with a brief bow to Striker.

"You too!" Striker said with a bow in reply, taking out his aluminum bat.

Once Miser gave them the okay to begin, the bobcat let out a small, absolutely adorable battle cry, as she ran right at Striker, firing at him with an airsoft rifle.

Striker grinned. "Batter up!" and started hitting away the air-soft ammunition just as fast as it was fired at him. Grinning in return, the bobcat began strafing around Striker, not letting up her assault for a single moment. And Striker didn't let up with his hitting streak, exciting the audience up with each hit.

_"Wow, Striker's quite the athlete,"_ Snap said in amazement.

"He sure is." Tails noted with a chuckle.

Eventually, the bobcat reached for something hanging from her belt, which she quickly hurled at Striker. "Incoming!" The moment it touched the ground, it created both a blinding flash and a deafening noise, meant to disorient Striker. It suceeded in that, but Striker tried to keep his wits about, hold his bat ready while his ears were ringing.

However, once the blinding effects of the flash faded, the bobcat was nowhere in sight… until something clocked the back of Striker's head.

"Ow!" Striker fell over, but he didn't hit the ground, he just stumbled on his feet.

"Hah! Gotcha!" the bobcat laughed, as she had been the attacker. Sticking her tongue out at Striker, she began firing airsoft pellets at him before he could recover.

Striker raised his hands, but it still hurt to be hit by the airsoft gun. Finally, his ears stopped ringing and reality tuned back in, so he took his bat again. Then he ran around the bobcat with incredible speed; nothing compared to the legendary blue one, but he was pretty darn fast.

The bobcat didn't cease in firing at him, however, trying to find some form of blindspot she could take advantage of, even if he was running around her.

Striker finally stamped his foot down, and leaped high in the air; so high that the audience was in awe. Looking up at Striker, the bobcat had to move her helmet away from her eyes so she could properly look at this.

"KYAH!" Striker made a flip, and on his return down to the arena, he was positioning his bat for a powerful downward swing.

"Eh?" Seeing that, the bobcat instinctively covered her eyes with her helmet, though she was too stunned to actually move.

WHACK! Striker made a powerful blow to the helmet, and presumably to the bobcats cranium.

Gritting her teeth, the bobcat was sent tumbling to the ground by that strike, rendered absolutely dizzy from that blow. Shaking her head, she glanced at the bear. "…what's your name?" she uttered.

"Striker," he answered, wondering why she'd ask that.

"…I'm Maya…" the bobcat replied, before she fell on her back. "…I'll be rooting for ya." she added, just before Striker was announced the winner of the match.

Striker helped Maya up and off the arena, so they could make way for the next two contestants.

Soon, the two new contestants came out, one of them being Metal, who was already cracking his neck in preparation for his opponent.

Metal's opponent was a colorful parrot. He had a large pair of music ear phones on his head with music jamming in his ears, looking at Metal with a glazed look. "Let's break out the jams, man," the parrot said.

"…if you insist." Metal hummed, as Miser called for the fight to begin. "Make your move."

The parrot opened his mouth, and made a screech, which projected large, powerful sound waves at Metal.

"Hn?" Seeing that, Metal quickly ran out of the path of the sound waves, circling the parrot to see what else he could do.

"You can do it, Metoh!" Joy cheered hopefully.

The parrot just continued to try and follow Metal with his screech.

With a nod, Metal suddenly skidded to a halt, his mechanic eye briefly flashing. Got it! With a nod, Metal opened his own mouth, before unleashing an even stronger screech, which sent a sound wave plowing through the parrot's own sound wave, headed right for Metal's opponent.

The parrot was literally knocked right over on his back in a daze. "...now that's what I call a headbanger, man," he uttered, collapsing dizzily.

With that, Metal was announced the victor, and with a nod, he took the parrot out of the arena, allowing the next contestants to step forward.

* * *

**_Since the preliminaries aren't so important, we'll really start the tournament in the NEXT chapter XD_**


	16. Chapter 16

_**5 Years Later – Chapter Sixteen…**_

The preliminaries lasted for quite a while, with some plowing down their opponents with ease, and others having more challenging battles. Eventually, hours later, the massive number of people who had enlisted to join the tournament had been reduced to a mere 16, all of whom were currently standing in the arena.

Ani and Striker shook hands. "Glad you made it this far!" Ani said.

"Now we just gotta work through this whole thing!" Striker replied with a nod.

Jill smiled at their enthusiasm. Metal couldn't help but smile as well, before he glanced at the other ones who made it through. Of course, Hex and Krieg were there, the former unsuccessfully trying to catch the attention of the blind warthog. Looking around, he also saw Team Alpha assembled, along with Boomer, Sonia, Cal and Rudy, all of them giving each other one last pep talk before the incoming fights. The last three were Ruki, who seemed anxious to get things started, Spiel, who seemed a little disinterested in the crowd's cheers, and Lock, who merely stayed by himself, his arms folded.

"Alright, all of you!" they could hear King call from the highest seat of the arena. "Out of everyone who have participated, all of you have shown the greatest capabilities in battle, and have the biggest shot at winning the whole thing! Now, all of you, get ready for the first match!"

"This is gonna be SWEET!" Rudy exclaimed.

"You said it!" Sonia laughed, waiting eagerly to see who would be the first ones to fight.

"Our first match of the tournament is…" King began, before he took a dramatic pause to heighten the tension. "…Wiper of GUN's Team Alpha, against Anistasia Symphony!"

"Woo!" Ani was going to have fun with this one, and as the crowd cheered as usual, she and Wiper entered the arena. With a small hiss from Wiper, the two stopped at the center of the arena, where Miser stood waiting.

"Alright, both of you are ready?" she said, glancing from the cobra to the husky-wolf.

"…I'm ready." Wiper nodded.

"Me too," Ani said.

"Well, I hope so," Miser called, stepping away from the two. "LET'S BATTLE!"

Once she gave that cry, Wiper rushed right at Ani, aiming to strike the pressure points in her arms right off the bat. Wiper's hands only hit a psychic barrier though. "This is the first time I get to fight you," Ani said with a grin. "So I'm making sure to be extra careful!" and she made a teleclap at Wiper.

The shockwave from that teleclap knocked Wiper back, though shaking his head, he ran around Ani, once again aiming to strike her pressure points; this time aiming for her back. Again, Wiper hit a psychic barrier. Ani knew that once Wiper got a pressure point, it would be all over, so she had to be REALLY careful with the snake; that meant no punches or kicks. Strictly telekinesis.

So she did another teleclap at Wiper, trying to think of what else she could do to fight.

This time, however, Wiper rolled away from the shockwave, before rushing right at Ani, aiming to grab her arms. Ani was jumped, so Wiper actually managed to get a hold of her arms. Panicked, she kicked at Wiper's head.

However, that led to her foot getting caught by Wiper's mouth, letting him bite down on it to inject some of his neurotoxin into her foot.

"YEOWCH!" Ani yanked her foot away, and immediately started to feel her foot numbing. "...uh oh." Taking advantage of her moment of surprise, Wiper quickly struck the pressure points in Ani's arms, intending to fully stun her. Ani couldn't do much of anything else, so Wiper struck her down completely.

Watching her go down, Wiper let out a small hiss, before he folded his arms. "…and that's it." he hummed.

Although, Wiper spoke too soon. Ani closed her eyes and looked like she was concentrating. Then, her head pulled up.

Seeing that, Wiper blinked, stepping back a bit. _…seems like she has more up her sleeve..._ he thought, before hissing. _Let's see what she's planning._

As Ani got up more, a blue glow was visible around her, and when she opened her eyes, Wiper saw that they were aglow in the same blue. "It's been awhile since I used this much power," she said, crossing her arms. Then when she whipped them apart, blue telekinetic energies lashed at Wiper.

His eyes narrowed in that instant, as Wiper quickly rolled away from those energy blasts. _…she's using her telekinesis to force her body into motion, in spite of being paralyzed… _he thought, as he hissed again_. …which means that the only way for me to beat her is to knock her out. _With that thought in mind, Wiper ran around Ani once more, trying to find a weak spot he could exploit.

Ani raised her hands, and more telekinetic energy blasts appeared from above, raining down on Wiper while he ran.

Seeing that, Wiper gritted his teeth, as he had to focus more on maneuvering away from the blasts, making it harder for him to focus on Ani.

_I just got to divide his focus,_ Ani thought, multiplying the energy blasts as much as she could.

Still moving away from the blasts, Wiper shot Ani a glance from time to time. _…this must be exhausting for her… _he thought, as he was trying to get closer. _…if I can hold on for long enough, the strain should render her immobile…_

Ani kept going, but like Wiper predicted, she was getting tired. _C'mon, I can hold out! _She told herself in her head.

Wiper, however, seemed to think otherwise, as he caught notice of her growing tired. _Now!_ Baring his teeth, Wiper suddenly turned and ran towards Ani, dodging some blasts that seemed to be on a collision course with him.

_No, no, no, NO, NO, NO! _Ani panicked, throwing more and more to try and stop him.

However, Wiper remained too agile for her to hit him, as he reeled his arm back, ready to jab it forward to strike Ani. "…this will end it."

"EEEP!" Ani shrieked, simply reacting by making her feet kick at him.

"HNGH!" Not having anticipated a physical attack, the kick struck Wiper dead-on, stopping him directly in his tracks. "…whuh…?" he uttered, briefly losing focus.

Ani used another kick to try and pin him down.

This time, however, Wiper was prepared, quickly grabbing the leg to keep Ani at bay.

Ani put a hand to Wiper's face. "EAT IT!" Out came a telekinetic blast, right in front of Wiper's face.

"GUAH!" This time, Wiper was sent flying a great distance, crashing into the ground. Disoriented, Wiper failed to get up in time before Miser counted him out.

It took the crowd cheering for her to realize this. "...I won?" Ani threw her hands up. "I WON!" Then her blue glow faded. "...whoops," and she collapsed onto the ground.

Sitting up, Wiper rubbed his head, as he glanced at Ani. "…good match." he said with a nod.

"Thanks," Ani chuckled a little sheepishly, but she couldn't get up because she was still numb. "..uh, a little help?"

Getting to his feet, Wiper walked over and helped Ani get on her feet. "Just relax; you should regain the feeling in your body before your next match." he nodded, as he helped her leave the arena.

"Now that was a heated battle, wasn't it, folks?" Miser called, hearing the excited cheers from the crowd. "I figured you'd feel that way! Now, King, may we have our next match-up?"

"Certainly!" King laughed, as he folded his arms. "Our next match-up is Calculate the Monkey, against Krieg Verruga!"

"Huh, interesting last name," Cal murmured, walking up to the arena with Krieg.

Krieg remained silent once he stepped onto the arena, even after Miser allowed the fight to begin.

Cal drew out his katanas. Remembering the training that he and Natal experienced with this guy, he knew that this match was going to be tough; he even considered the possibility that the odds were very well against him, but he had to try anyway. "May the best man win," he said to Krieg.

"...indeed." Krieg nodded, though he remained stationary, without moving.

With that, Cal lunged after Krieg. Quickly grabbing one of his swords, Krieg parried the incoming attack from Cal, though he didn't put up an offensive to counter the monkey's attack. Cal tried another strike from the side. However, once more, Krieg simply parried it, without even casting Cal a glance. Cal began throwing all kinds of swings at the warthog. However, Krieg easily repelled the strikes, without going on the offensive. "...no improvement." he murmured.

Cal jumped back, and withdrew his katanas. _Obviously, that's not going to work, _he thought. _Guess I'll have to try something else. _He got a head start with a run, and with a mighty leap, he hoped to kick Krieg in the face.

However, once he threw the kick, Krieg merely ducked, letting Cal sail right over him. "...that won't work." he hummed.

"...So I see," Cal murmured. _Well then, I'll have to try something drastic._ When opening his palm, energy started building up into it.

Even so, Krieg simply remained stationary, as he actually sheathed the sword he held.

Cal aimed his palm, and...out shot a massive charge of electricity at Krieg.

Still, Krieg didn't move, even as the electricity rocketed at him. At the very last second, however, Krieg spun around, pulling out four of his swords to block the electricity from hitting him; the electric charge sparking against the four blades.

"...hm..." _I need to get rid of his hearing is what I need to do, _he thought, looking around at the audience. _But I can't bring out the thing I need to do that, or it'll destroy everyone's hearing. _"...well, your move," he finally said.

With a nod, Krieg unsheathed two more swords, now holding three in each hand; one between each finger, like claws. Then, guessing where Cal currently was, the warthog rushed right at the monkey, swinging his swords at him. Cal was quick, and so he avoided the swipes. That didn't stop Krieg's assault, however, as he suddenly began spinning around rapidly, his arms stretched out; intending to catch Cal in a twister of blades. Cal crouched onto the ground as low as he could to evade that attack. Hopefully, with the sound of the spinning swords, he could sneak underneath Krieg and try to trip him with his tail.

However, Krieg suddenly stopped spinning, aiming his swords down at Cal. "...you'll need to try harder to cause me to become disoriented, Calculate." he uttered.

Cal sighed. "...yeah, I know."

"...so, what will you do?" Krieg hummed. "Do you have anything else to offer?"

Cal reached into a compartment on his chest. "This." When he pulled out a particular object, it started to let out a very high pitched noise, making everyone in the audience cover their ears and groan. Krieg merely gritted his teeth, as the noise forced him to step away from Cal.

Cal took this opportunity to jump forward and kick Krieg in the gut, hard. The kick sent Krieg staggering back further, though thankfully, he didn't retaliate. Cal ran at him and punched him this time. The punch struck Krieg's face, sending him staggering back again. Cal used his tail and whipped him in the face, hoping that last blow would knock him down.

The strike did knock Krieg off his feet, sending him flying a small distance; however, by letting go of the swords he held in his left hand, he grabbed hold of Cal's tail, pulling him off the ground as well, forcing both of them to crash into the ground. Even so, Krieg held onto Cal's tail, with no intention of letting him go.

Cal tried to pull his tail away, but no success. After a while, Krieg got on his feet, before he began swinging Cal around like a ragdoll, his grip on the monkey's tail remaining firm. Cal let out a spiraling yelp, growing dizzier with every spin. He even lost his glasses, which plopped onto the ground of the arena.

Without any compassion, Krieg simply hurled Cal right up in the air, before he sheathed the swords he was still holding. Cal was too dizzy to activate his jetpack thrusters, so all he could do was allow gravity to pull him back down toward the arena.

As he fell, Krieg drew the largest sword on his person, raising it up. Then, once Cal got in a close enough range, Krieg slammed the hilt of the sword smack-dab into Cal's gut, adding even more force to the ensuing impact. The air was knocked out of Cal, and he tumbled onto the arena next to his glasses, unable to get up from a blow like that.

With that, Krieg walked over to his swords, picked them up and sheathed them, before he turned his head to where Cal lied. "...the battle's over." he uttered, just as Miser called it.

Cal pushed himself to his feet, taking a few steps to try and regain balance from the dizzy state he was in. "...ow..." he murmured, picking up his glasses and walking to the edge of the arena and...before he could fully fall off, however, Krieg suddenly grabbed him, helping him regain his balance.

"...you did well." he reassured, helping Cal away.

"Th-thanks," Cal said with a stutter.

"That's our second match done with, ladies and gentlemen!" Miser called, as she looked up towards King. "Now, who will be our next contestants?"

"I'm glad you asked, Miser!" King laughed, folding his arms. "Our next contestants are... the bounty hunter Lock the Sniper, against Jillian Condit!"

With a nod, Lock walked up onto the arena with Jill following. He cracked his neck a bit, before turning to face Jill. Jill smiled at Lock with a bow of her head. This would be the first time she ever really got to fight him. Lock began slowly circling Jill once Miser gave the signal to start. Jill followed Lock's movements, and the two made circles around each other, building the suspense. As they circled around each other, Lock slowly reached into his coat, without removing eye contact from Jill. Jill continued to watch him closely.

Just then, faster than anyone with normal eyesight could comprehend, Lock pulled out a gun, and fired a shot at Jill.

Joy gasped, "Mama!"

Jill didn't move, but she had something in her hand; a cork. Just how did she catch it like that?

"...hm." Lock chuckled, twirling a revolver in his hand. "Your reflexes are top-notch. That's good." Then, he suddenly rushed right at Jill, intending to use the butt of the revolver as a club to hit her with.

Jill ducked, and so the battle between them finally began.

Joy's eyes suddenly widened. Why did she get the impression that she saw this before?

_The arena slowly shrank from view. Lock and Jill were now standing in a graveyard...or was it Jill? Even though she looked like her mother, Joy felt like it wasn't her..._

_It was like before. The woman that looked like her Mama._

_Who was she?_

_Lock was agile enough to sidestep the incoming dark projectiles that this woman threw, keeping his revolver aimed on her with hand on his hat. "...that's it?" he said, before sighing. "How disappointing." Without a moment's hesitation, he pulled the trigger, sending a bullet rocketing towards her._

_CHNNNG! The bullet ricocheted off of a shining surface, and the woman had her scythe in hand, having deflected the bullets lightning quick with it. "That's far from it, Lock," she chuckled. "You have no idea." She lurched forward to slice him with the scythe. Lock, however, was quicker, leaping back the moment she attempted to slice at him. Without a word, he fired four more bullets at this woman, emptying his revolver. Again, the woman deflected the bullets with her scythe; all but the last one. It scratched her cheek, and she stepped back a moment. There was no blood, but black ooze instead, trickling down her cheek. Yet, she was undaunted by it; she only continued to smirk. "That tickled," she said._

_"...interesting." Lock hummed, as he began twirling his revolver around. In that instant, he quickly used his free hand to pull another revolver out from within his coat, before he began firing at the woman repeatedly._

_"Joy? Hey Joy, are you okay?"_ With a couple blinks, Joy looked over at Snap, finding herself in the arena again.

"Huh?" she muttered. Just then, she heard the sound of corks being launched from a pop-gun, as Lock was repeatedly firing at Jill, who seemed to be quick enough to evade the bullets. Seeing that, she rubbed her eyes.

_"Are you tired?"_ Snap chuckled.

"M-hm...just a little," she said. Maybe that's it...after all, she did stay up pretty late last night with that sleepover.

In the meantime, Jill was still trying to figure out what move to make while she avoided the oncoming corks.

As he fired corks at her, Lock suddenly pulled out a machine pistol from his coat, before he began firing at Jill; the ammunition this time, however, were paintballs.

Jill threw her body forward and started flipping over through the paintball rounds, successfully evading them with swift acrobatics.

Joy saw it again.

_The woman that looked like her Mama did the same thing in the graveyard, only Lock had two machine pistols, not just one._

_And he wasn't shooting paintballs._

_In the final leap, she aimed her whip for one of the machine pistols; successfully yanking it out of Lock's grip, and leaving him only one._

_In spite of that, Lock didn't seem all that affected, as he stopped running. Quickly, he removed the magazine, before inserting a new one into the pistol. "Let's see how you handle tracer rounds." he said, as he began firing at the woman again; this time, however, the bullets were visibly igniting, lighting fires wherever they landed._

_"You sure are defiling a lot of graves," the woman remarked. She threw her whip over a tree branch and pulled herself up high into the air._

And Jill dove down with a kick at Lock. Quickly raising his hand to defend against that blow, Lock knocked Jill away, before he continued firing at her, this time shooting small suction cups at her from the machine pistol. Jill bounced away, and continued the process of evading fire once more, watching for an opening at Lock.

With a nod, Lock suddenly hid the machine pistol within his coat, before reaching for his rifle. Rushing at Jill, Lock swung the massive rifle at her like a mace. Jill ducked underneath, and threw a kick for his gut Quickly, Lock grabbed the incoming leg before it could connect with his gut, though since he still held his rifle, he could only throw Jill away for the time being. Jill rolled over back onto her feet, and ran at Lock again.

Lock fiddled a bit with the rifle, before aiming it at Jill. _Using this doesn't seem fair... but if I can stun her, she'll be out of the tournament in no time. _he thought, before firing a shot at her.

Joy gasped.

_That woman darted around so fast that the naked eye would miss her if it blinked, and she wormed her way to the point she stood right behind Lock. With a strange, black energy built up in her hand, she jabbed it right through his back._

"Lock!" Joy was on her feet, which was kinda hard for Tails when she was sitting on his lap, but Joy looked again. It was her own mother who struck Lock in the back with a hand, and it did not have any black energy to it.

The blow sent him staggering forward a bit, forcing him to drop his rifle. "...quick..." Lock commented, slowly glancing at Jill. Then, all of a sudden, he pulled out one of his pop-guns from his coat, aiming to hit Jill right on her head with a cork fired from it, to disorient her.

It was quite a surprise to Jill. The cork knocked her backward...

...and Joy saw something completely different.

_What she saw was the equivalent of that other woman's head exploding as well as being thrown backwards, and black ooze splattered everywhere. It even looked like she had been thoroughly defeated..._

_...but the black ooze that was in puddles everywhere, crawled its way back to the body, and gathered around where the head used to be. Once it was all there, the gooey glob began building up on the shoulders, and the body sat up._

_Joy shuddered at the horror she saw._

_The glob of black goo on the shoulders took its shape, and eventually morphed itself back into that woman's head. When the transformation was complete, she opened her eyes and glared at Lock angrily as she stood up._

Jill just wiped her forehead irritably with the bruise that appeared from the cork. As she did that, however, Lock ran up behind her, and swung the butt of his pop-gun at the back of her head, to ensure that he knocked her out. Instead, Jill quickly grabbed the rifle and stopped it, shooting a glower at Lock. Then she grabbed his arm, and hurled him right down to the ground.

"UNGH!" Being thrown like that knocked the air out of him, and it didn't take long before he was counted out by Miser. Once she called the match in Jill's favor, Lock sat up, rubbing his head. "...good match." he commented, glancing back at Jill.

Jill nodded in thanks, and helped Lock up to his feet. Once the two got off the stage, King readied the next contestant names. "Next up, we have Hex the Octopus, against Sonia Heartbreaker!" he called.

"Mmmh... this is the first time I've faced off against the Heartbreaker herself..." Hex chuckled, looking at the rattlesnake with a wicked grin after they were on stage. "...I do hope to enjoy this."

"Don't get too cocky, Hex." Sonia said with a smirk, cracking her neck. "This veteran's going to knock you right out of the stage!"

"...that would be something else, wouldn't it?" Hex chuckled, before motioning for Sonia to come at her. "Let's go, dear."

_"...Uh, Joy, you can sit down now," _Snap said. _"Hey, are you okay?"_

Joy carefully sat back down on Tails' lap, looking at Snap uneasily.

_"If the battle scared you that much, we can leave," _he offered.

Joy shook her head. "...I'll stay."

All of a sudden, Sonia rushed right at Hex, swinging her leg in a wide arc, which nailed the octopus directly in the face, sending her skidding back quite a bit. The octopus had quite a surprised look on her face, as she wiped some blood off her lips with one of her tentacles. "...kkh..." she grunted, before smirking. "...you're a feisty one, Heartbreaker... though, from all the battles I've seen you in, that shouldn't be a surprise."

"Hey, what can I say?" Sonia chuckled, tapping her foot against the ground. "Don't think you should underestimate me!" Then, she ran right at Hex again, leaping up in the air above her to deliver a spinning kick.

Quickly, Hex raised two of her tentacles, letting them take the incoming kick; however, she didn't expect Sonia to suddenly vault over her, before managing to grab her around the waist via her legs. Before she could react, Sonia planted her arms into the ground, lifted Hex up with her legs, and forcibly slammed the octopus head-first against the ground. Once she let go of the Hex, she slumped to the ground, before Sonia stood up, raising one hand to indicate that she was expecting this to be a victory.

"...mmmh... not yet..." Just then, Hex had her tentacles push herself off the ground, as she looked at Sonia with a hungry look. "...I can't have you end it just yet... not without repaying you in kind, Heartbreaker." she chuckled.

"C'mon Sonia, you can do it!" someone in the audience shouted.

Before Sonia could react in time, Hex suddenly lashed one of her tentacles around Sonia's arm; specifically, the arm she held up in the air. As she tried prying herself free, Sonia failed to stop Hex from lashing another tentacle around her other arm, before she began stretching them behind the snake's back. "...let me hear you scream." Hex cooed, trailing a third tentacle across Sonia's neck.

"Kkh... get your slimy appendages away from me!" Sonia snarled, before she aimed a kick right at Hex's face, knocking the octopus back; however, her grip on Sonia remained firm, which only resulted in Sonia being pulled back after her.

The audience watched the suspense.

Gritting her teeth, Sonia suddenly twisted her body around so she'd vault Hex over her again; however, Hex simply used her tentacles to cushion the impact, though at least now, their roles were reversed.

"...you're so wild, Heartbreaker..." Hex eventually chuckled, before she looked back at Sonia. "I think I have to... mmmh... break _you_."

Suddenly, all of Hex's tentacles lashed right at Sonia, curling around her body in every conceivable way, slowly constricting the poor snake in their grip. Still, Sonia remained strong, not willing to break under that kind of pressure. "...come on... is that all you got?" she spat, glaring at Hex.

"Mmmh... I wonder how long you can keep that attitude up?" Hex chuckled, as she strengthened her grip around Sonia, while one could hear bones starting to crack in her body.

Joy buried her face in Tails' shoulder again, unable to watch this. To comfort her, Tails placed a hand on her head, before he looked back at the battle, which Hex was once again dominating. _...what a cruel woman..._

"...are you done?" Hex chuckled, as her grip grew even stronger. "This grip of mine could potentially shatter your spine, Heartbreaker... you should give it up, while you still have a chance."

Gritting her teeth, Sonia gave Hex a deadly glare. "...real warriors do not surrender under these circumstances..." she growled. "...even someone like you should know that; after all, you joined Safe Haven."

"...hm..." Hex chuckled. "...true enough." Then, she suddenly slammed Sonia against the ground, long enough for Miser to call the match in her favor. "Perhaps you could show me what it's like to be a real warrior, then?" she laughed, before she left the arena.

"...tsch... fat chance." Sonia spat, as she began limping away.

Jill came to Sonia worriedly, wondering if she was okay.

"...y-yeah, don't worry about me." Sonia murmured, cracking her neck a bit. "I'll be fine."

After a short while, King got ready to announce the names of the next contestants. "Next up, Boomer the Duck against Rudy the Kangaroo!"

"Whoopie!" Rudy hollered, hopping right onto the arena with Boomer beside him, grumbling.

"Alright Rudy, do you think you can control yourself?" Boomer asked.

Once Miser started the match, Rudy started bouncing repeatedly. "Sure!" he said with a grin.

"Alright."

Boomer ran at him with a punch, but Rudy just jumped right over her. Boomer spun around with another punch, but Rudy jumped over again; this time, pouncing on her before he jumped away. Getting up, Boomer growled.

_"You ca-an't touch me! You ca-an't touch me~!"_ Rudy taunted in a sing-song voice, hopping around in circles.

Some parts of the audience couldn't help but snicker at Rudy's eagerness.

"C'mon, hold still Rudy," Boomer growled.

""Kay," Rudy leaned back on his tail and stood there, allowing Boomer to run at him. However, when she was about to grab him, Rudy gave her a powerful kick that almost knocked her off the arena; luckily, Boomer stopped herself before she fell.

"...damn, I didn't think he'd be this hard to fight," Boomer muttered to herself under her breath.

Rudy made faces at her, and even stuck out his tongue, "BLEH!" then he laughed.

Boomer steamed up, "Why you-!" Her anger blinded her thinking and so she lunged again. Although, right as Rudy was about to kick her, Boomer did a smart thing and jump aside, snatching Rudy's tail right as he passed her. Then she swung him around and threw Rudy down.

The kangaroo got back up dizzly. "Wow, you're strong Boomer," he said, trying to shake off his dizziness.

"I have to be," Boomer chuckled. "Now show me what you got, squirt."

"Hey, don't call me that!" Rudy hopped right at Boomer, jumping high to stomp down on the duck, but she rolled over and jumped on him with a kick. Rudy tumbled across the arena, and bounced back onto his feet with his tail.

Now, the audience was growing intrigued, watching the fight in awe.

Rudy jumped at Boomer again, and she evaded to his behind, pinning him down to the ground. Rudy spun around and grabbed Boomer in a headlock. "Noogie!" he laughed, harshly rubbing Boomer's head.

"HEY!" Boomer tried to struggle out of this humiliation. Finally, the duck managed to grab him and pin him down. "Two can play at that game!" she stuck her pinkie in her mouth to get it slimy with spit, and stuck it in Rudy's ear. "Wet willie!"

"AGH!" it felt absolutely displeasing to Rudy, and he kicked Boomer right off, gaining distance between them when he got to his feet again.

Seeing the fight devolve into those childish games, the audience grew more confused, though they were still entertained, nonetheless.

"Alright, let's be serious," Boomer said.

"Right," So Rudy came at Boomer again, but when he used his tail to spring at her, Boomer was well trained with this concept and spun around him, grabbing his tail again and hurling him onto the ground. Rudy, in a panic, started kicking Boomer in the stomach, but the duck didn't let go of him. It sure hurt when Rudy kicked her though.

The audience began growing excited again, waiting to see how the battle would end up.

Boomer finally had to let go of Rudy's tail, and he projected his feet right into her using that tail against the ground, pinning Boomer onto the ground this time. Boomer lost air and collapsed, thus rewarding Rudy as victor of the match. He got off of her once it was over, but for a minute, Boomer didn't move.

"...Boomer?" Rudy leaned closer to her.

What had been excited cheers died down, as the audience looked towards Boomer as well.

Rudy actually started to get a little worried, shaking her. "Boomer?"

Boomer's hand grabbed his collar, startling him.

"...good...match," she uttered, wincing. Rudy helped Boomer up then, and carried her off the arena, with the audience cheering again.

"Right, let's move on to our next match!" King called. "Now, we have Team Alpha's Natal the Bullfrog, against... Metal!"

Nodding, the two stepped onto the arena, with Natal cracking her neck in preparation, whilst Metal prepared himself by throwing a few jabs in the air. "...good luck." Natal said with a nod to Metal, who merely nodded back.

"Ooh," Joy watched intently for this battle. She hoped that Metal was going to win.

In that instant, both of them rushed at each other, Natal lashing her tongue at Metal, and Metal aiming a kick at her. While his kick connected with her stomach, her tongue wrapped itself around his arm, so both of them were sent tumbling to the ground. Instantly, Metal got up on his feet, pulling Natal up by using her tongue, which was still wrapped around his arm.

With a small grunt, Natal quickly removed her tongue from Metal's arm, before leaping back to gain some distance between the two. "...not bad." she coughed.

"...I could say the same to you." Metal nodded, before he and Natal rushed at each other again, each of them throwing a kick at the other, their legs slamming against each other.

This battle was different than the others, and the audience was absorbed into it.

Before Metal could move away, Natal suddenly jabbed her tongue right in Metal's face, causing him to stagger back, which allowed her to draw out one of her swords. Quickly rushing at him, she intended to slam the hilt of the sword right in his gut. However, Metal was quicker, stepping to the side when Natal was about to strike him, before he swung his arm at her, striking her neck.

Skidding back from that blow, Natal quickly latched her tongue around her sword, before she ran right at Metal again, throwing a punch at him. However, it was simply caught by Metal, though this led him open to getting hit in the face with the hilt of Natal's sword. Stumbling back, Metal held his bloodied nose, as he glanced at Natal, who folded her arms.

"...Metoh gots an owie," Joy muttered unhappily.

"Go Metal! Go Natal!" Striker cheered at the sidelines.

Wiping away the blood, Metal began circling Natal, who followed him with her eyes all the way, her tongue waggling a bit about, in case he would try anything._ ...I need to find a quick way to deal with her... _Metal thought, slowly cracking his neck. _...quick... that's actually not a bad idea. In that instant,_ Metal vanished.

Before anyone could make sense of that, Natal was suddenly sent flying; Metal had suddenly appeared behind her, punching the back of her head with quite some force. Skidding to a halt, Natal looked back at where Metal was. However, he wasn't there. Suddenly, he appeared right in front of her, kneeing her gut, which sent her stumbling back a bit.

Gasps of amazement shot through the audience. Joy, especially.

_"Wow, he's fast,"_ Snap uttered.

"...He gotsa be," Joy told him. "Sonic's his grampa."

If Tails had been drinking something at that moment, now would be the moment where he spat it out in surprise. Thankfully, he wasn't drinking anything, but hearing Joy say that was... surprising, to say the least.

Shaking her head, Natal glared back at Metal, before she ran right at him, intending to kick him; however, the moment her kick would have connected, Metal vanished. "...tsch..." she coughed, before she glanced behind her.

"...the fight's over." Metal uttered, just as he grabbed Natal's shoulders, and pushed her so that she fell to the ground. As he pinned her down, Natal was unable to get up before Miser counted her out, letting Metal win the match.

Coughing, Natal got up on her feet, before she glanced at Metal. "...good fight." she said with a nod, before she and Metal left the arena.

As the crowd cheered, Tails glanced down at Joy. "...just who told you that, Joy?" he hummed.

"Strikoh telled me," she said.

"...he told you, now..." Tails hummed, whilst nodding. _...I should probably ask about that later..._

"Alright, our next match is..." King called, clearing his throat a few times. "...Striker the Slugger, against Ruki the Scorpion!"

"Yes! My turn!" Striker said, excitedly running onto the stage.

Nodding, Ruki ran up on the platform after Striker, giving him a brief bow. "May the best one win!" she said, before getting in a battle-ready stance.

"Yep," Striker said, pulling out his bat. "And good luck to you too!"

Ruki nodded, before she ran right at Striker, launching her stinger right at him. Striker swung it away with his bat, and then threw another swing for Ruki herself. Before it could hit her, Ruki grabbed the incoming bat with one of her pincers, before aiming to hit Striker with the other pincer. Striker pulled away to avoid it, but unfortunately that meant that his bat was in Ruki's grasp.

"I hope you won't mind if I borrow this." Ruki hummed, as she weighed the bat a little in her grasp, before she began swinging her free pincer repeatedly at Striker.

Striker kept dodging and running around Ruki. _Great, now I don't have my bat,_ he thought. _How do I get it back?_

"Come on; you can do better than that!" Ruki called, as she began jabbing her stinger at Striker, without ceasing her constant assault of trying to strike him down with her pincer.

It was getting harder and harder to fight her. _I gotta do something!_ He thought in a panic.

Then an idea came to him.

"Aha!" He jumped back far enough for some distance away from her, and whipped out a remote with a button on it.

"...hn?" Ruki blinked, as she looked at the console with a baffled look. "What's that?"

"You'll see!" And Striker pressed the button on it.

The instant he did, Snap started to feel strange. Then his systems started to feel like they were overloading. He fell over in his seat, moaning. _"...what's...going on?"_ he uttered.

Seeing that, Tails glanced at him. "...Snap? What's the matter?" he uttered.

_"...I...don't feel so good,"_ Snap gulped. That sure was strange, since robots aren't supposed to feel anything; and yet, Snap was starting to feel woozy. All of a sudden, his head exploded, making the audience around him gasp and scurry away from him. Instead of collapsing to the ground, though, Snap's pieces jumped into the air and flew at Striker, swirling around him like a whirlwind.

This was truly a sight to behold, as everyone looked towards Striker in awe.

"...what the hell?" Ruki uttered in shock, taking a step back at this sight.

Striker held out his arms, and all of the pieces attached to them, building. Finally, when the whirlwind of robotic parts was gone, Striker possessed a pair of wicked-looking sea-green and black gauntlets; one of them looked like an arm cannon, looking very much like the cannon that Snap had, but it looked bigger, better.

A hologram appeared by Striker's shoulder, which looked like Snap's head. He looked around in disbelief. _"What just happened?"_ he uttered.

"I'll tell you what happened," Striker chuckled. "For awhile I've been wanting to build something like this, and thanks to Lock's help and the inspiration for the idea from the Professor, I did."

Ruki blinked, as she tilted her head. "...um... is that even allowed?"

Miser, who was just as baffled by this as the next person, could only tilt her head as well. "...uh... I don't think the rules say anything about suddenly using an audience member like that, so..."

"...well, whatever." Ruki shrugged, briefly regaining her composure. "Tsch... I'm not gonna let that bring me down!" she called, before running right at Striker, jabbing her stinger at him.

Striker simply grabbed the stinger, now that he had those gauntlets. With Ruki in his hold, he aimed the cannon right at her. "Like Ani said, EAT IT!" He laughed, then an electrical charge built up inside, and he shot it.

"Wha- OOF!" Before she could react in time, the blast knocked Ruki a fair distance from Striker, and only by some miracle did she not collapse; however, she did drop the bat. "Guh..." she uttered, trying to regain her balance.

Striker hurried over and grabbed the bat so Ruki wouldn't pick it up again. "Now," The arm with the canon shifted into a hand, and he took the bat with both hands, running at Ruki with a more powerful swing than he had ever done.

"Hngh?" Quickly, Ruki tried grabbing the incoming bat with both of her pincer hands, but once she gripped down on it, she realized just how much power had been added to Striker from before. Even as she pushed against the bear, she had a good feeling that she wouldn't be able to hold onto it indefinitely. Striker started pushing against her in a power struggle, overtaking her quite easily. Gritting her teeth, Ruki suddenly stomped her foot into the ground, before desperately swinging her arms so that she'd hurl Striker away from her, in order to gain some distance between them.

Striker yanked the bat out of her grip and landed across the arena. "Wow, this is intense, huh?" he called.

"You said it!" Ruki called back, before wiping away a few beads of sweat that had gathered around her forehead. "But I'm not gonna give up yet!"

"Good!" Striker said with a smile, running at her with his bat again.

"Yaaaah!" Likewise, Ruki rushed at Striker, lunging her stinger at him whilst trying to grab him with her pincers.

Striker faked her out, and instead of swinging his bat, he fell and slid right underneath Ruki evading her pincers and stingers, almost like he was sliding for home base, aiming his cannon at her once more and firing.

"Wha-" Before she could react in time, the blast hit her dead-on, flinging her right up in the air, before she slammed down onto the ground. In a daze, she was unable to get up before she was counted out, earning Striker the match.

"Yes!" Striker got up and threw his hand in the air in victory.

_"...uh, I AM able to return to normal, right?"_ Snaps holographic head asked beside Striker's shoulder.

"...I think so," Striker murmured in reply uneasily.

_"YOU DON'T KNOW?"_ Snap blurted in panic.

"Guh..." Ruki uttered, as she slowly sat up, before looking at Striker. "...man, that cannon really packs a punch!" she uttered, before getting on her feet. "Good fight."

"Thanks," Striker gave her a nod of gratitude, and the two of them left the stage.

"Alright, for our last match before we take a break, we have... Newt the Salamander vs. Spiel Gierig!"

As King called out the last two names, the two contestants went onto the stage, Newt looking eager, whilst Spiel merely cracked his neck. "Alright, get ready for a pounding!" Newt said confidently, raising his fists whilst looking at Spiel.

Spiel, on the other hand, merely smirked. "I'm ready." he said with a nod.

"...uh-oh..." Joy whispered to herself, remembering what happened a few days ago with Striker.

"Hah!" Once the match began, Newt wasted no time at all, rushing at Spiel with a series of punches, hammering against him repeatedly with his fists. However, no matter how many times he punched the massive pig, he didn't even seem to budge. Still, Newt wasn't one to give up, as he kept pummeling Spiel.

"...you know, maybe I could tutor you in punching some day." Spiel commented jokingly, as he folded his arms, watching Newt keep trying to harm him with his punches.

"Hey, GUN training's given me plenty of punching practicin', y'know!" Newt called back, still not letting up his assault.

"Of course; I didn't mean to offend GUNs teaching methods, if you got that impression." Spiel chuckled, as he glanced at his own hand, still not bothered by Newt's assault. "But I generally find punching to be so much simpler when you focus it all on one area... like so."

In that instant, Spiel aimed a single punch right at Newt's face, but the force of the blow was actually enough to launch Newt right off the arena, directly into a nearby wall.

Joy cringed when that happened. The audience could even see Boomer running to the side to Newt to make sure he was okay. "Guh..." Though he was in a daze from that heavy blow, Newt seemed relatively alright, as he looked towards Spiel, who had already walked off the arena. "...tough guy..."

"...um... well, that was certainly a quick match, wasn't it?" Miser uttered, trying to get the audience's spirits up again. "We'll have a brief intermission, and then we'll move on to the next round!"

* * *

Moments later, audience members were chattering amongst themselves and scattered all over the place. This allowed Joy to worm her way down to the arena area, where she ran for Jill. "Hi Mama!" Jill picked her up and hugged her.

"Hello, there, Joy." At that point, Metal approached Jill and Joy with a slight smile, giving her a nod. "Having fun?"

"Mhm," Joy said with a nod back to him.

Ani, Striker and Rudy came by them too. "Isn't it awesome how we made it to the next round?" Striker asked.

"Yeah!" Ani replied.

Metal simply nodded, as he folded his arms. As he did that, he happened to glance out of the corner of his eye, where he spotted Hex attempting to strike off a conversation with Krieg. Spiel, on the other hand, stood on his own, merely waiting for the matches to begin.

"Striker, that was so cool with the arm cannon!" Rudy said. "You were all like, P-TEOW! And I can't believe how you slid underneath Ruki like that!"

"Ah, shucks," Striker said sheepishly.

"You were pretty good too, Ani!" Rudy continued. "Even if Wiper stunned you, he couldn't keep you down! I sure wish I could've done something like that with training a few days ago!"

"And I didn't think you'd beat Boomer, Rudy," Ani said with a grin, "but you sure showed her!"

"Mama did good too!" Joy said, making Jill smile. "Lock's big and tough, but Mama beat him! And Daddy was-"

Many eyes were drawn to Joy just then. "Daddy?" Ani questioned.

Joy covered her mouth in embarrassment.

Metal blinked, as he glanced towards Joy as well. _...did... she just call me..._ he thought.

"...I...mean Metoh...um," Joy looked very embarrassed indeed. Jill looked at Metal in amazement.

Metal could still only look at Joy with a baffled look, before he eventually scratched the back of his neck; needless to say, he and Joy shared the exact same embarrassment at the moment. Jill just looked back and forth between them, while the awkward silence was drowned out by all the chatter around them. It was so unexpected to hear Joy say that.

"...well... I'm glad that you enjoyed the battles, Joy." Metal said with a slight nod to her, managing a small smile.

"Alright, people, the battles are about to begin! Would everyone return to their seats?" Miser called, catching the attention of everyone in the arena.

With that, Jill set Joy down so she could go find Tails again in the crowd. She waved back at them. "Bye Mama! Bye Metoh!" Metal waved back at her.

* * *

**_...DAAAWWWWW!_**


	17. Chapter 17

_**5 Years Later – Chapter Seventeen…**_

"Ladies and gentlemen, let's get ready for the next round! Jillian Condit against Hex the Octopus!"

Hearing that, the octopus smirked, as she walked onto the arena, before she shot a glance at Jill.

Jill took a deep breath and climbed onto the stage, facing Hex.

"Mmmh... do try and make this entertaining for me, Condit." Hex chuckled, just as the match began. "Go on; come at me."

Jill eyed her warily, but she did run with a punch at Hex.

However, before it could hit the octopus, she wrapped one of her tentacles around Jill's hand, keeping her in place. "Mmmh... try harder, dear." she chuckled in a sultry tone.

Jill wasn't worried that she had a tentacle on her, so she spun around with a kick aimed for Hex's face.

However, with a swift movement, Hex caught the leg with another tentacle, stopping the blow from hitting her. "Darling, you're not trying hard enough." she laughed mockingly.

Well, with her leg and her arm stuck in the grip of tentacles, Jill wasn't sure how she was going to get away from her at this rate, but she was still plenty calm.

Joy, on the other hand, dreadfully feared for her mother after seeing what Hex did to Sonia.

"...mmmh... you're determined, aren't you." Hex chuckled, sliding a tentacle underneath Jill's chin. "I wonder how long it will take to make that determination shatter... so let's take our time, shall we?" As she said that, she began slowly twisting Jill's leg, though not too much, just to see how the ewe would react.

Jill winced, but thought nothing else of it. Meanwhile, she was looking at the tentacles to try and come up with something.

"...you know, Condit..." Hex hummed after a while, pulling Jill closer so she could whisper in her ear, without the rest of the audience catching wind of it. "...you seem to be hitting it off pretty well with Metal, these days..." she whispered, still twisting her leg. "...not that I can blame you; he's quite a catch, isn't he?"

Jill grit her teeth and tried to ignore the pain, but Hex speaking to her was distracting her from thinking of a way to get out of this.

"...now, since you seem to be close to Metal..." Hex chuckled, casually flicking at Jill's hair with one of her tentacles. "...I hope you don't mind if I... borrow him... for a couple of nights."

Jill was appalled by the idea, and it was just then that she finally thought of something. These tentacles strangely enough related to Metal's tendrils... a few memories of training before the battle with Callous rushed back. So Jill moved over to Hex's ear.

"...you can kiss my ass, you whore."

And she grabbed one of Hex's free tentacles and quickly tied them around the other ones.

"Hngh?" Seeing this, Hex gritted her teeth, before she began twisting Jill's leg and arm harder than before. "...such language..." she whispered, masking her surprise at hearing Jill actually talk. "...my, my, my... I think Callous must have had quite the influence on you."

Jill was shocked that Hex knew about Callous, while restraining herself from uttering any pained noise. After all, she didn't want to scare Joy. "...it's called growing up, Hex," Jill whispered back, yanking on the tentacle that she tied around the other ones in hopes that Hex would trip.

However, in spite of stumbling, Hex was quick to regain her balance, by unwrapping the tentacle around Jill's leg to support herself before she'd hit the ground. "...though using such curses seems fairly immature..." Hex whispered, before she quickly wrapped the tentacle around Jill's other arm, starting to twist both of them. "...but I shouldn't hold it against you. I can't imagine how much you've held in such language... while in the company of Neo Metal Sonic."

Jill cringed, feeling her arms to be on the brink of breaking if they could. "...are you done?" Jill whispered back. "I've already had others mess with my emotions. It's pretty old." She had to be careful though, because Jill started to see that some audience members were noticing her moving her lips.

"Ah, but old tactics are often the best, aren't they?" Hex chuckled. "Though, it must be tough... a murderous vampire within him, and you with your worse half... I can't imagine what you'd say if you realized what those two brought about in recent times." Then, she gasped mockingly. "Oops! Did that really just slip my lips? How careless of me." she chuckled.

Jill just stared at Hex in total disbelief.

Then her hands clamped around the tentacles, and she set her foot down. Utter hatred appeared on Jill's face. "...that would suck," she growled, using amazing strength to actually yank Hex up and slam her onto the ground.

"OOF!" Coughing from that blow, Hex glared at Jill. Quickly getting back up before she could get counted out, she wrapped her free tentacles around Jill's gut, dragging her close to her. "I see that they failed spectacularly at disciplining you..." she whispered, her tentacles slowly crushing Jill in their grip. "...at least I know that they tried... though Raider did pay the price for it."

Jill couldn't speak now, because Hex was constricting her gut so. She only wondered how Hex knew all this, and stared at her questionably.

"...you know, Condit... I'm a good sport." Hex eventually said, as she managed to loosen her tentacles from being tied up, before they wrapped around Jill's body, fully constricting her. "Once the tournament's over... I can take you to see Raider." Then, she smirked wickedly. "Of course... you'll be broken beyond repair. But look on the bright side; I'll let Metal and Joy come along as well. At least you can spend your time together... as my new toys."

Jill glared at her, and while the pain was unbearable, she was still calm. "...here's what I think." Then she spat at her face.

Hex had to shut her eyes, as that had been a bit sudden for her. "...defiant to the end... admirable." she spat, before her tentacles coiled tighter and tighter around the ewe. "But now... it's over." Just then, one could hear the bones in Jill's body crack and shatter.

That instant, Jill slipped and when she cried out in pain, everyone in the audience gasped of surprise and horror.

"Mama!" Joy was ready to cry, wondering why Hex would be so cruel as to hurt her mother like that.

From the sidelines, things weren't much better. While Spiel looked on with an indifferent gaze, Krieg had a worried frown on his face, while Metal was worried beyond belief. "...damn it..." he uttered, wanting to stop the octopus from hurting Jill, but he knew that if he did that, Hex's victory would've been guaranteed.

Jill shut herself up, chastising herself for letting out that cry, but until Hex let her go, there was nothing she could do. She was trapped. Hex, in the meantime, still had a sadistic smirk on her face, as she twisted Jill's limbs with utter delight. The only thing that stopped her from actually snapping Jill's neck while she was at it, was the thought of not being able to hear more of Jill's cries of pain. Jill tried to stop herself from doing that but the pain was pretty harsh.

Joy finally turned away and broke down into her hands. She wanted this to stop. Seeing Joy react like that, Tails held her to try and comfort her, before he looked back at the battle.

After what seemed like an eternity, Hex finally stopped. "...there." she scoffed, before her tentacles began uncoiling from around Jill's body; all but one of them remained. "...with this... you've lost." she added, before tossing Jill's broken body to the ground.

Jill stopped screaming when she hit the ground, thankful that all of that was over now. The audience had a hard time seeing that. Miser herself was absolutely appalled by this sight; so much, in fact, that she even forgot starting to count down for Jill being on the ground.

"...well, I believe the result is obvious." Hex chuckled, as she glanced towards Metal, who glared hatefully at her. "...I win." she added, taking out her pipe to light it.

_...now,_ Jill thought while she pressed a hand to the ground and started to push herself up shakily.

The audience suddenly gasped again, and whispers were abuzz.

Hearing those whispers, Hex blinked, before she glanced behind her.

Jill was on a foot, making sure that she could put weight on it, before she finally rose, looking at Hex. The audience cheered wildly when they saw Jill standing.

This brought Joy to look, and her eyes widened. "...Mama?"

Seeing this, Hex dropped her pipe in astonishment. "...how... how did you..." she uttered.

Jill didn't even give her the time. She took this opportunity that Hex's guard was down, and ran at her with a punch toward her face; thrown with all of Jill's might. The punch hit her full-force, and the octopus was launched in the air and crashing onto the ground, skidding to a halt fairly quickly. Needless to say, she was counted out, and Jill was deemed the victor of the match.

Jill stood there taking deep breaths while the audience wailed, rewarding such a suspenseful battle. Then the two left the arena (Hex storming out of the entire complex), and Metal had a relieved smile on his face. _...good job, Jill._

"Alright, now for our next match! Anistasia Symphony, against Krieg Verruga!"

Hearing that, Krieg walked onto the arena, stopping in the middle of it.

"Good luck Ani," Striker said.

"Thanks," Ani replied, walking out to meet Krieg.

As the match began, like before, Krieg merely stood his ground, waiting for his opponent to make a move. Ani decided to use a teleclap at Krieg. However, by discerning it from sound alone, Krieg ran away from the incoming teleclap, before running right at Ani, drawing one of his swords.

Ani panicked already, but kept her eye on Krieg to focus. With surprising agility, Krieg flipped the sword in his hands, before swinging it at Ani; however, not with the sharp edge, but with the blunt edge. Purely out of reaction, Ani used a psychic barrier to deter the blow, stepping away from Krieg cautiously. Feeling that barrier, Krieg hummed, as he took another blade from its sheath, wielding two in his hands. Weighing them, he waited for Ani to make a move once more.

Ani had to try and make as little sound possible, so she just barely lifted herself off the ground so her feet wouldn't do that, and she approached Krieg with a telekinetic energized punch. However, by some feat, he actually managed to move aside so that the punch sailed past him. Ani fell, not anticipating that, and scrambled back onto her feet. Unfortunately, that made noise.

However, surprisingly, Krieg didn't take advantage of that, as he simply walked backwards, away from Ani.

Ani launched herself at Krieg again, this time with a kick.

However, Krieg merely evaded Ani's kick, before he swung one of his swords at her once more; again, using the blunt edge. Ani wasn't as focused as she was earlier, and that blow knocked her rolling on the ground. Hearing the impact of hitting her, Krieg quickly leaped back, before glancing at where he presumed Ani was lying. Ani was on her feet again, and this time, she lunged at Krieg with all the force she could use, throwing many punches and kicks to try and get Krieg. This time, Krieg stayed on the defensive, both evading and blocking her multiple strikes, though not taking advantage of any openings Ani could've shown.

Ani relentlessly kept throwing punches and kicks, even to a point where she became just deadbeat tired.

Still, Krieg didn't attempt to attack her, even as all the odds were tipped in his favor.

Finally, Ani decided to raise her hands and conjure up many telekinetic beams in the air, poised to shower down on Krieg.

At that point, however, with moves quicker than the naked eye could perceive, Krieg quickly began using his swords to repel all of the beams, reflecting them off to different parts of the arena. However, this wasn't just one sword or two swords he accomplished this with; somehow, he had managed to draw out all ten of his swords, holding four in each hand, and two within his mouth.

"...whoa," Ani muttered, watching that.

Once the barrage ended, Krieg merely glanced towards Ani, before he slowly began walking towards her, cracking his neck.

Ani stood in a stance, but in reality she was afraid that she didn't have any other thoughts on how to fight this guy.

Eventually, Krieg stopped directly in front of her, without any form of movement. Just then, he dropped all of his swords to the ground. "...good match." he said with a nod, before aiming a sudden swing of his arm at Ani's neck. Ani hit the ground, coughing harshly with that kind of hit to her neck, almost unable to breathe. That also meant that she didn't get up in time to beat the count, which made Krieg the winner.

Ignoring the cheers from the crowd, Krieg stepped over to Ani, and helped her on her feet. Ani finally stopped coughing when she and Krieg stepped off the stage. "...thanks," she muttered.

"...don't mention it." Krieg hummed.

"Alright, let's have our next match-up! Rudy the Kangaroo, against Metal!"

Hearing his name announced, Metal went onto the arena, folding his arms in preparation for the battle to begin.

Rudy hopped along, and watching Rudy get on stage, Striker realized something. "Wait...if Rudy's fighting him, then the only one left is..." Striker slowly turned his head and looked at Spiel. _...don't tell me that I'm fighting him after them? _he thought.

Spiel, however, didn't return the glance, as he kept watching the impending battle.

Once it started, Metal wasted no time, as he rushed right at Rudy with a punch. Rudy leaned back and the punch flew over him. Then on the rebound, Rudy kicked Metal. While he allowed the kick to strike him, Metal was smart enough to grab hold of Rudy's legs, ensuring that the kangaroo was pulled along with him when he was sent flying off.

"WHAO!" and they tumbled away.

Once the two of them slammed into the ground, Metal spun around, trying to keep Rudy pinned down. "Sorry, but I'd rather not hurt you too much, Rudy." he said.

"Hey!" Rudy tried to kick Metal off.

However, Metal took the kick without moving, and tried keeping Rudy down a little longer.

"Aw," Rudy accepted defeat. "Oh well. I guess you were gonna win anyway."

"...well, as I said, I didn't want to hurt you." Metal said with a nod, as he helped Rudy on his feet, before they walked off the arena.

"Alright, now for our next match; Striker the Slugger against Spiel Gierig!"

When his name was announced, Spiel walked onto the arena, cracking his knuckles, as he finally looked at Striker.

Striker gulped, but put on a determined look when he followed Spiel out there. "He's gonna be rough, okay, Snap?" he said.

_"...just...be careful then,"_ Snap's holographic head uttered.

When the match began, Spiel looked down at Striker. "...alright, Striker... let's see if you've done anything with that potential I saw in ya." he said.

Striker clenched a hand, and threw it at Spiel's gut. This would have plenty more force than the punch he threw three days ago, that was for sure, but was it enough?

At first, it didn't seem that way. Just like before, the punch didn't move Spiel from where he stood whatsoever, as he simply looked down at Striker. However, for the briefest of moments, in a blink-and-miss-it moment, there was something very different from when Striker had punched him last time.

Spiel winced.

"...not bad." he said, grinning. "Not bad at all."

It still wasn't enough though, and Striker watched Spiel carefully, wondering if he should punch again or let him have his turn.

"...well?" Spiel chuckled, as he slowly raised his own fist. "You can't relax in a battle; your enemy can take advantage of every moment of weakness you show."

Striker bit down on his tongue and threw another punch, putting more effort into it.

Still, Spiel didn't budge, though he let out a small cough from that. "Come on; keep it up, Striker!" he said in an encouraging tone. "You're doing much better than that salamander!"

Now Striker decided to go for it, and throw many punches right at his gut, without stopping this time. _Is it really hurting him, or is he just playing with me? _He wondered in thought.

Spiel didn't even bother stopping Striker's barrage of punches, as he actually began chuckling. "Good going, good going!" he laughed, clenching his hand into a fist. "You actually have a chance of beating me!" Then, he threw a punch right at Striker.

Striker, remembering what happened last time, reacted with his arm. While he was still knocked away with incredible force, his gauntlet had taken most of the damage and left Striker still standing.

Laughing, Spiel ran right at Striker again, and threw another punch at him. Striker ducked and rolled out of the way frantically. Shooting him a wicked grin, Spiel kept running at Striker, throwing punch after punch. Striker either mostly evaded it, or tried to block it with the gauntlets, but each time he let the gauntlets take the blow, there was more of a chance of them breaking.

And Snap's holographic head reacted to each hit with a pained look.

Striker jumped away and made his arm change to a cannon. Then shot it at Spiel.

The blast hit Spiel dead-on, sending him skidding quite a few feet backwards; however, once he stopped, something became apparent. He was actually holding the energy blast within his hands, as he looked at Striker with a wicked grin. "Here ya go!" he yelled, before pushing the blast right back at its sender.

Striker was so shocked Spiel caught that, that it hit him and sent him on the ground. While getting up, he noticed the gauntlets were very damaged looking, and Snap's holographic head was fading in and out in a fuzz. That blast had a pretty hard impact on him.

"Oh no," he thought, shooting a look to keep his eyes on Spiel.

What he would see, was Spiel having a downright terrifying grin plastered over his face, as he stomped his way towards Striker, cracking his neck as he approached the small bear.

Striker's brows arched. It didn't look like he was going to win this, and it looked like Snap wouldn't be able to take much more of this.

"...sorry buddy," he muttered, pressing a button on the gauntlets.

With a fierce battle-cry, once he got close enough, Spiel threw a powerful punch right at Striker.

Striker took the blow in agony, allowing the gauntlets to shatter apart and fall to the ground while Striker collapsed on the stage, declaring Spiel the victor.

With a laugh, Spiel walked off the arena, glancing towards Striker. _...he'd definitely make a fine addition to my forces._

The pieces that were on the ground stirred, and pieced themselves back together, to recreate Snap himself to his original state. The bot was pretty amazed that it had happened. Then he looked toward Striker, who hadn't moved. _"Striker!"_ he shouted, running to his maker.

The audience grew quiet.

After some examination, Snap was a little relieved. _"He's alive,"_ he announced. _"...but unconscious."_ So the robot picked up the bear and carried him off the stage. Ani ran to them on the sidelines, and she took Striker worriedly.

After Striker was carried away, another intermission was called, letting the audience rest after the battle between Striker and Spiel. At the moment, the remaining combatants had been asked to leave the main area, to allow for some adjustments to be made. Currently, Metal stood on his own against a wall, pondering about a few things.

Jill approached him, and looked around to make sure no one was close by, so she could whisper in his ear. "What's up?" She had noticed that he was thinking.

"...I'm thinking about the upcoming battles." Metal whispered back to her. "Both Krieg and Spiel are formidable opponents... but depending on who we'll be facing, if we have a proper strategy, beating them would be simple..."

Jill nodded in agreement. "What are your ideas?"

Metal closed his eyes. "...Spiel focuses on raw power. The key to defeating him lies in speed. Krieg is going to be more challenging, though..."

"...but like Cal had done before," Jill murmured. "Disorienting him could be beneficial."

"...that would mean finding a way to take care of his hearing..." Metal hummed. "...for me, that shouldn't be too hard... but if you face him, how would you pull it off?"

"...I could think of something," Jill murmured, but admittedly she didn't have any ideas at the moment.

"...well... just make sure to be careful." Metal eventually said, before he looked at Jill. "You had me worried during the last fight."

Jill looked down to the ground. "...I was pretty worried too...but not for your reasons." She still wondered how Hex knew all that information. Was information about her being spread around, if she AND Diablo knew about her?

Seeing that, Metal placed a hand on her shoulders. "...don't worry; we'll get through this." he said with a smile. "Let's focus on facing each other in the finals." he added with a light chuckle.

Jill smiled at him. "Yeah."

At that point, they heard King's voice bellow through some speakers. "Would Jillian Condit and Krieg Verruga enter the arena?"

Hearing that, Metal gave Jill a nod. "Good luck."

Jill gave Metal one last nod, and headed for the stage.

Once she got there, she noticed that the sidelines had been elevated to the same height as the arena. "For the last matches of the tournament, we've decided to eliminate the ring-out factor!" Miser called through the microphone. "That way, the only way our combatants can win is to keep their opponent pinned down long enough! Are the combatants ready?"

As if on cue, Krieg walked onto the stage, waiting for the battle to actually start.

Jill stood on the opposite end facing Krieg, also waiting. She better think of her strategy quick...

"Alright, people; Let's Battle!"

Once Miser called that, Krieg drew out two of his swords, swinging them around a bit, before he began walking towards Jill.

Jill actually walked to him as well, and before he would be able to do anything, she tapped one of his swords; her way of asking if she could borrow it for the battle.

After all, she didn't want to just whip out her own sword without warning.

Krieg tilted his head a bit, before handing that sword over to Jill. "It's a bit heavy." he said.

Jill took it and weighed it. _Not so heavy,_ she thought. _My blade's just about that size_. She even swung it around a bit to test it, and it was just right.

Gripping the blade he held with both hands, Krieg gave Jill a nod. "Fight well." he said, before swinging his sword at her. Jill blocked on instinct, and while it was a pretty heavy blow, she was holding her own. However, Krieg didn't give her any quarter for rest, as he kept slashing at Jill repeatedly, intending to get a hit in on her. Jill just kept blocking; buying time to think of her strategy. Now, Krieg began putting up an even greater offensive, pushing Jill further back with every strike of his sword.

_Wow, he really is tough, _Jill thought, doing more evading than blocking.

It came to a point where Krieg suddenly reached for a second blade, before beginning to attack her with both of them.

_If he breaks out all of them, then I'm in trouble, _Jill thought. _Better start making some moves. _As quietly as she could, (a skill she learned years ago since she became mute) she tip-toed around Krieg's attacks, and backhanded him from behind.

As he had been focused on slashing, the blow caught him by surprise, sending him stumbling forward. However, believing Jill to be behind him, he quickly swung both of his swords at her. Jill did a flip away from him and kept her distance. Gritting his teeth, Krieg drew out two more swords, before running at where he presumed Jill to be, slashing at her wildly. Four swords were hard to evade, so Jill went right back to blocking.

After awhile of doing this to help convince Krieg, she tip-toed around again, and this time aimed a kick at his back.

However, with one swift movement, Krieg suddenly placed two of his swords within his mouth, before he grabbed Jill's leg with his free hand. Quickly, he threw Jill a good distance away from him, before he drew two more swords, now holding two in each hand, and two in his mouth.

Jill landed on her feet again, looking at that. _Six swords...great,_ she thought in disdain.

Without a word, Krieg rushed right at Jill, slashing his swords at her with wild, raw force, while still maintaining total control over himself. It was then that Jill thought of something, but she'd have to get through Krieg's attacks first, which were a pain to dodge and block. It took a long time before Jill was able to sneak through and snatch another one of Krieg's blades from his belt.

Feeling that, Krieg quickly shot a glance towards where he assumed Jill was, before he leaped away from her. Slowly cracking his neck, he waited to see what she would do now. With two blades, Jill tested their friction. Yeah, this might work, she thought.

Then she ran at Krieg, and when she was close enough, she slashed the two blades against each other right near Krieg's ears. That loud noise did the trick, as Krieg stumbled backwards, disoriented and distracted. An opening waiting for her, Jill threw a kick at Krieg's gut.

The kick knocked the warthog back, but with his ears still ringing, he couldn't do much in terms of countering her attack.

Then Jill spun with another kick at Krieg's face.

The kick forced him to drop the swords he held in his mouth, though now, he had regained his bearings. Quickly drawing his last two swords, he rushed at Jill again, slashing at her. Jill got away, but with a small cut on her arm. Wincing, she distanced herself from Krieg again.

Wasting no time, Krieg placed two of his swords within his mouth, before picking up the ones he dropped. Then, he rushed right at Jill, swinging his swords at her with more force than before.

With the two swords Jill had, it was a bit easier repelling all of Krieg's blows.

Despite him not landing any blows on her, Krieg kept swinging wildly at her.

The moment she slipped, Krieg cut her again, and Jill had to jump back a great distance to stop herself from getting any more cut.

Something started happening to Jill though...

She felt weak, and the blades dragged on her with their weight. She didn't feel so good.

However, even in spite of that, Krieg rushed at her, his attacks growing fiercer by the minute.

Jill just kept running away from Krieg, wondering why in the world her body was acting like this, but it was getting worse; she was starting to feel dizzy enough that she actually dropped one of Krieg's swords and held her head.

Still, Krieg didn't let up his assault for a single moment, slashing his swords at her with more and more intensity. Jill quickly picked up the sword she dropped and jumped away, but that was all she could do because she felt like she was falling...

...that is, until her body started acting on it's own without her doing anything.

Her mind was in a dazed stupor, but her body started matching to Krieg's speed, and not only that, but it was trying to attack Krieg back as well. Realizing that, Krieg tried forcing Jill back on the defensive with his own powerful assaults. It didn't work though; Jill seemed to be blocking his attacks with ease and growing more aggressive on her side.

She was aware of what she was doing, but somehow...she had no control over herself.

What was going on?

Krieg let out a small sound that could seem like a growl, before he suddenly whirled around Jill, attacking her from every angle possible, to minimize the chance of her repelling him.

Jill was losing her mind more and more, to a point where her vision darkened... yet she still felt her body moving rapidly. _...no, stop it,_ she thought. This wasn't right. Something was going on, and part of her felt like it was...

...bad.

While Jill fought whatever was going on with her, she was still keeping up with Krieg. It came to a point where, after a while, Krieg suddenly flipped the swords he held in his hands so that the hilts were pointing at Jill, before he suddenly slammed them against her neck, in order to incapacitate her.

That wasn't a very good move for Jill on her part. It stopped her from being able to fight whatever ailment was on her, making her vision black out...

...but the audience saw that she was still standing there, with closed eyes.

Flipping his swords around again, Krieg stepped away from Jill, tilting his head a bit.

All was still and the audience awaited what would happen... then suddenly, she leaped up into the air and came down with a hard drop-kick on Krieg's head. The kick slammed into him, though he, too, remained standing; however, like before, the blow forced him to drop the swords he held in his mouth. Then Jill took the hilt of one of the blades she held, and shoved it right into his gut mercilessly. It sent him staggering back, but surprisingly, Krieg didn't fight back at this point. Jill came and also whacked his arms with that hilt with the same strength, hoping for him to drop his other swords. The blows did force him to drop his swords, though yet again, he didn't bother countering it. Then, for the coup de grace, Jill stepped back and ran at him with a flying kick, aimed to knock him right off his feet.

The kick sent him flying, but rather than crashing against the ground, Krieg quickly planted his hands against the ground, vaulting himself in the air and landing on his feet. Now, he simply gazed towards Jill, a thoughtful frown on his face. Jill tossed away the swords in disapproval, and started coming at Krieg with punches; these ones somehow stronger than one would anticipate.

Krieg simply took the punches, though he didn't move, didn't falter, and didn't counter; allowing Jill to simply wail on him.

Jill stopped, and stepped away, groaning.

Still, Krieg remained standing, merely looking at Jill. "...who haunts you?" he finally uttered.

Jill stepped toward Krieg, so she could whisper.

"...I don't know."

"...it took hold of you, did it not?" Krieg inquired.

"...yes..." and Jill wondered why that happened to her. She and Krieg could hear the audience whisper to each other in confusion. The action of the battle had stopped after all, and the audience was wondering why.

"...I suppose that it has ceased its hold over you, now?" Krieg asked.

Jill opened her eyes and looked up at Krieg. She was back to normal now, standing and seeing with clear vision. She had full control over herself again. "...it looks like it," she murmured to Krieg.

"...make sure to keep it under check." Krieg uttered. "That force is a destructive one." Then, he simply walked past Jill, towards his swords.

Jill went and picked back up the two swords she remembering having not too long ago. While she would've thought about what just happened, now wasn't the time for thinking. There was a tournament going on, and she wasn't going to hold it up.

However, once he had picked up his swords, Krieg merely sheathed them, before walking over towards Jill. "...my swords, please." he said with a nod.

Jill looked at him in wondering, eventually handing him the blades.

Taking them, he sheathed them as well, before raising his fists. "Let's finish this without blades."

"...okay." Jill raised her own fists, and the crowd cheered again now that the action was going to return.

With a nod, Krieg began by throwing one punch at Jill. Jill moved aside from it, and then she threw a punch at him. Krieg stepped away from this, before he tried kicking her in the gut. The kick was hard, making Jill step back a bit to ease up, but then she was ready to jump back in with a kick of her own at Krieg. It slammed into him, forcing him to stagger back to recover. Once he did, Krieg rushed right at Jill with a series of punches. Jill started trying to block them, and proceeded to counter with her own punches. Likewise, Krieg tried blocking the punches she threw at him, throwing his own at her whilst doing so.

The audience started chanting for them, hoping to see which of them would break from the pattern and stamp out on top.

So far, Krieg didn't seem to be the one to break off, as he just kept punching at Jill. She didn't change tactics either...

...that is, until she decided to use her leg to try and trip him.

That took him by surprise, causing him to tumble to his knees; however, he quickly returned the favor by swinging his arms at Jill's legs at well. Jill tripped onto her back, but flipped backward onto her feet again. Then with Krieg still on his knees, she jumped with a kick.

It slammed directly into his chin, which sent him flying up in the air, before he landed on his hands, letting him vault back with a kick aimed at Jill.

That kick hit her gut, sending her on a roll on the ground and then on her feet again.

Nodding, Krieg ran right at Jill, aiming to hit her with a swing of his arm at her neck.

Jill moved aside, and grabbed his arm to see if she could hurl him onto the ground. Though he was bigger than her; much bigger, she might have the strength to do it. Surprisingly enough, she was actually able to hurl him onto the ground; however, Krieg took advantage of her holding him, and slammed her onto the ground as well. It was enough to make Jill let go of him when she hit the ground, but she quickly got to her feet again, and tried to catch her breath. Krieg was making her sweat, that was for sure.

Quickly getting back on his own feet, Krieg cracked his knuckles, before charging at Jill with intent of slamming his shoulder into her. Jill jumped out of the way, and with the force he used for that, Jill used it to kick Krieg in that direction.

Krieg stumbled from that kick, but he didn't let that stop him, as he turned and tried charging her down again once he regained his balance.

Jill jumped over him, leaping off his head with her foot. Now that she was in the air, she aimed another drop kick on him.

Unlike the last time, however, Krieg grabbed hold of Jill's leg before the kick could hit him, keeping her up in the air.

Jilll looked down uneasily at him. _...uh-oh,_ she thought.

"...think fast." Krieg said, as he began spinning Jill around, before suddenly hurling her far up into the air.

Jill was so high up that she could see outside of the arena off in the horizon. "...wow..." the view was almost distracting really, and the moment that Jill started falling back down, she remembered the fight. Then she looked down at Krieg. I'm high enough that if I try to attack, it could have some impact, she thought. So she dove toward Krieg.

Krieg kept gazing upwards, unaware of what Jill was planning.

Jill suddenly flipped over again with her foot down, but what she accidentally did was let dark green energy leak through her foot. With a yell, she stamped her foot down on Krieg. The intense force behind that blow hit Krieg face-first, promptly smashing him against the ground, cracking it beneath him and he didn't get up in time before he was counted out, finally letting Jill win the battle.

After having counted Krieg out, Miser turned away from the scene, her eyes slightly widened. _...did Jill... actually use... _she thought.

"Gnh..." Krieg groaned, though he still didn't get up from where Jill had smashed him.

Jill took his hand, and helped him up.

"...thanks." Krieg hummed, as he gave Jill a nod, before he began walking off. "...you should probably observe the next fight. It will aid you in finding a strategy for your final opponent." he added.

"Now, will Metal and Spiel Gierig enter the arena?"

Once Jill and Krieg had left the stage, Metal and Spiel entered the arena, as King told them to, before they looked at each other. "...let's see what you can do." Spiel chuckled, as he cracked his neck.

"...I can do a lot." Metal said bluntly, before getting in a fighting stance. "Pray that you can keep up."

Both Joy and Jill would make sure to watch closely.

"Alright, people; LET'S-"

Before Miser could even finish her intro, Metal suddenly vanished from sight, quickly reappearing behind the massive pig, aiming a fierce kick at the back of his head, which sent him tumbling forward. Gritting his teeth, Spiel glanced behind him, but Metal had vanished again. "...he's quick." Spiel commented.

In that instant, one could see a blue blur suddenly appear in front of Spiel, as a rapid stream of punches slammed against Spiel's gut, with enough velocity to render the arms practically invisible. After a good thirty seconds of nothing but those punches, another punch sent Spiel flying a great distance, skidding along the ground on his back, before he got up.

The audience was in absolute awe by this; even Miser, who could only gawk as Metal reappeared in the middle of the arena, his arms folded. "...b-battle." she uttered meekly. Joy was also totally speechless by this.

The only one who may not have seemed surprised was Jill. _Be careful Metal,_ she thought.

"...alright, buddy..." Spiel chuckled, as he wiped his lips, before approaching the hedgehog, who merely kept looking at him. "...let's see how you handle one of my punches." Then, he ran right at Metal, before throwing a fierce punch at him.

However, Metal simply ducked to avoid the punch and quickly grabbed Spiel's arm. Unlike when Jill tried it against Krieg with minor difficulties, Metal actually managed to effortlessly lift the much bigger Spiel up in some spins and then hurl him right up in the air. Before Spiel could even begin to descend, however, Metal vanished and reappeared right above the pig, spinning rapidly in a homing attack driving himself into Spiel into the ground, cracking the ground beneath him.

Once again, as Metal vanished and reappeared a distance from him, Spiel got up, breathing heavily. "...kkh... you know your moves..." he spat.

"...Metoh's strong," Joy uttered to Tails.

"...he certainly is." Tails nodded.

"...now, hold still..." Spiel said, as he ran at Metal again. "...and let me hit ya!" he added, before he began punching at the hedgehog repeatedly. However, with graceful and swift movements, Metal managed to avoid every single of Spiel's punches, before throwing one of his own, which actually pushed Spiel back again. "...hn... I haven't met someone quite as powerful as you..." the pig eventually chuckled.

"...you can't do much with just brawn." Metal quipped, as he ran right at Spiel, who reeled his fist back to prepare to punch Metal. However, once Metal got in range, Spiel threw the punch, only to hit thin air, as Metal suddenly vanished, before reappearing above the pig, landing on his head and kicking him so fast, it seemed like he was running on the pig's head.

The audience cheered. It seemed like Metal was their new favorite fighter.

But Jill took this with a grain of salt, wondering if Spiel was going to come back with anything tougher.

From there, in one fluid motion, Metal went down from Spiel's head down to the ground, before swiftly sweeping the pig's legs, causing him to slip and nearly fall, had Metal not aimed a mighty punch right at his back, keeping him afloat. Then, dropping down so he stood on one hand, he suddenly aimed a kick at Spiel's head, sending him flying.

However, before he could hit anything that would stop his flight, Metal ran ahead of him, aiming another kick that sent Spiel flying to a different corner of the arena. Then, he repeated the process, running so quickly that one could only see a blur of him moving, before kicking Spiel off someplace else. After a while of this, it seemed like Metal's kicks were sending Spiel slightly higher into the air every time; and truth be told, that was exactly what was happening, as the pig was being smacked around like a ragdoll, with no opportunity of countering the hedgehog's attacks.

The audience winced at every hit. This was the roughest battle they've ever seen.

Eventually, Spiel had been knocked up in the air even higher than the last time, with Metal appearing over him. Just then, the hedgehog curled himself into a ball, and spun into a homing attack that hit Spiel's gut again, sending him rocketing down to the ground, hitting it so hard that he created a massive blanket of dust upon impact. Still, Metal was in the air, looking down at the dust cloud.

The entire audience was coughing in the dust cloud, but also on the edge of their seats to see if Metal had beaten him.

Metal, however, wasn't going to wait to see if Spiel was still up. "Once more!" he yelled, as he turned into a ball once more, spinning in preparation for one last attack.

At that point, Jill could sense something within the dust cloud building up; dangerously fast, at that.

Jill became uneasy. _Very _uneasy.

Soon, she wasn't the only one to sense this, as people could see something red glowing from within the dust, and the arena itself was actually beginning to rattle a little. However, above all else, one sound was most prevalent.

Spiel's laughter.

At that point, a crimson-red aura suddenly exploded from within the massive blanket of dust, dispersing it, and letting everyone see that Spiel was on his feet, blood trickling down his forehead and from his mouth. However, his arms were outstretched, he was laughing like a madman, and the crimson aura seemed to radiate from his very being. What's more, as he laughed, he simply looked up towards Metal, who had stopped spinning to behold this.

"...so it came to this..." Jill suddenly heard Krieg murmur. He was standing behind her, leaning against a wall.

"...Krieg," Jill whispered, looking at him. "What's happening?"

"...there is a good reason why any battle with Spiel shouldn't last this long; especially with him on the receiving end of the blows." Krieg murmured. "It may not seem like it at first, but when he finds a worthy opponent... he can only focus on beating that opponent as brutally as possible. Once that happens, almost nothing can hold him back until either he falls unconscious, or the enemy is defeated." Then, he turned his head towards Jill. "That red aura you're seeing, is his killer intent, made manifest."

Jill shot a look back at the stage, immediately filled with worry. "...oh no..." she murmured.

Metal looked down at the cackling Spiel with a look of curiosity. "...I don't know where you found that sudden surge of power from, but it's not going to help you!" he called, vanished and reappearing in front of Spiel with a fierce punch at his gut, which sent him skidding a distance away.

However, that didn't stop Spiel from laughing, staring at Metal with an almost insane look. "That's good! I've been waiting for someone like you to come my way!" he laughed. "I haven't had this much fun in a battle for a long time! Now let me crush you, Metal!"

Metal glared back at Spiel, gritting his teeth. "Are you high?" he spat, before he ran at Spiel, who prepared a punch. However, once Metal got close enough, it seemed like Spiel would punch him, but once Metal vanished, Spiel stopped.

"As a matter of fact, I am!" Spiel cackled, as he immediately swung his fist behind him, just as Metal reappeared there, who was unable to avoid the fist before it slammed into him. Just from that, people could hear the bones in Metal's body crack, as he was flung all the way across the arena, brutally slamming into a wall.

Jill gasped.

"Metoh!" Joy cried out in fear.

Coughing, Metal dropped down to the ground, supporting himself on his knees_. ...what kind of blow was that?_ he thought, holding a hand to his head. _It cracked several of my bones... I'm lucky that I can still move..._

"Heads up!" Spiel loomed over him with his fist raised. Just as Metal looked to see him, the pig slammed a punch at him, sending him hurling across the arena once more, bouncing against the ground a few times, before he skidded to a halt, once more on his knees.

"...kkh... damn it..." he coughed. He could feel his limbs tremble from just a few blows from Spiel and his vision was blurring, though he could still see that red aura around Spiel, who slowly, yet still ominously, turned towards him. To the hedgehog, it even seemed like there was a greater force standing behind the pig. _...a... demon...?_ he thought.

Joy was ready to cry again; she couldn't bear to watch Metal get hurt like this.

And neither could Jill for that matter. "...stop it..." she murmured under her breath, wishing that her prayers could be answered.

But her prayers fell on deaf ears.

Spiel slowly advanced towards Metal while he weakly tried pushing his battered body upwards. _...I... can't give up..._ Metal thought, trying to will himself up on his feet. _...I... can't let this pig beat me... _Slowly, he looked up towards Spiel, gritting his teeth so hard that his gums started to bleed. _...I am Metal Sonic... I'm stronger than this... I can't let it end... not like this..._

Once he had gotten himself on his feet, he saw Spiel towering above him, a slasher smile plastered over his face. "...you." he uttered gleefully, raising his fist. "Die."

He punched Metal with enough force to not only floor the hedgehog instantly, but also practically shatter the ground underneath him, sending bits of debris flying up into the air. From the looks of it, Metal had been knocked unconscious by that blow.

The audience let out their own startled reactions to this.

"NO!" Joy screamed.

Jill felt such despair at this moment. Very unpleasant memories were rushing back to her.

_...no...not him too._

Tears were even rolling down her cheeks.

It didn't end there. Before Miser even had a chance to start counting Metal out, Spiel suddenly grabbed Metal, and threw another punch at him, sending his body hurling towards a wall, where he was practically embedded into it from the heavy impact. "...not yet..." Spiel laughed, as he approached Metal, yanking him out of the wall. Then, he hurled Metal up in the air, and punched him so that he'd fly up into the air again, and when he fell, Spiel repeated the process countless times.

"...you should start praying for him." Krieg muttered, letting out a small sigh.

"...make him stop it," Jill uttered in desperation.

"...I wish I could." Krieg muttered. "But in his current state... I'd risk getting killed by him as well."

Spiel kept laughing like a madman, and he eventually grabbed Metal by the head, before slamming him against the wall of the arena repeatedly, rattling the stage even further. After a while of that, he pulled Metal away to observe the bloody crater he had caved in using Metal's skull. With a gleeful grin, he glanced at Metal, before slamming him against the ground, cracking it underneath him. Then, he hurled Metal across the arena, causing him to slam into the wall once more. However, before he could even touch the ground, Spiel ran and grabbed him, before proceeding to slam him against both the wall and the ground repeatedly.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Suddenly, Miser grabbed hold of Spiel from behind, trying to pull him away from Metal. "He's already unconscious! The battle's over, so stop it, already!" she yelled, though her pleads fell on deaf ears. "ARE YOU LISTENING? I TOLD YOU TO-"

"GET OFF ME!" Spiel laughed, as he shoved Miser aside, glaring at her. "Isn't this a battle?" he roared, before stretching his arms out, the bloodied Metal still in his grasp. "Don't we all just love our battles here at Safe Haven?" Without even bothering to hear anyone's opinion about this, he proceeded to slam Metal against the wall again.

"...no..." Jill couldn't take it anymore.

"STOP IT! PLEASE STOP!"

The audience was shocked to finally hear Jill actually speak.

But even her cries didn't stop Spiel, tossing Metal across the arena once more, whom fell limply to the ground. Spiel ran at him, still laughing, as he reeled his fist back for another punch. Once he got close enough, he threw it...

...and in that instant, an electrified hand caught it, stopping Spiel in his tracks. The moment his fist was caught, the red aura around him subsided, as he glared at the one who caught his fist.

"...the battle's over, Spiel." King uttered in a murderous tone, glaring at the pig.

Jill swallowed, so very grateful that King stepped in and stopped him.

"...how rare of you to step down to interfere." Spiel commented, tilting his head a bit. "Though... why'd it take you this long to step in, King?"

"Don't make me repeat myself." King snarled, electricity briefly crackling through his body. "You should be thankful that I'm not disqualifying you on the spot."

"...well, what sort of final match would it be, when one of the fighters are knocked out?" Spiel chuckled, which made King let out a roar, before he calmed himself.

"...Miser." King uttered, as he shot a glance back at Metal's body. Several deep cuts were present all over his body from the brutal beating Spiel gave him, which were leaking blood profusely. While his organic eye was closed, his mechanic eye was flickering, indicating that he was still alive, albeit in his condition, it seemed like the only flicker of life in his body. "Take him to the infirmary."

"Ah- y-yes, King!" Miser nodded, as she ran towards Metal's body, picking him up, before she headed out of the arena.

Jill wanted so much to follow Miser, and make sure Metal was okay; just be with him. What she saw was so horrendous, and not only that, but Joy was subjected to it. It was bad enough that Jill had the trauma to struggle with this so much, but for a child to see him like that?

She glanced over in the audience at Joy, who was sobbing in Tails' shoulder at what she just saw.

Jill wanted again to go to Metal, but she knew she had to stay. After all, it would be her turn to face Spiel now, according to the stack up of the tournament.

"...I wish you luck." Krieg uttered, as he finally walked away from Jill. "...if he releases his killer intent... keep your distance." he added, before he vanished into the darkness of the hallways.

Jill let out a few more tears before she finally decided to wipe them away and toughen up.

* * *

Minutes later, it was finally time, and she walked out onto the arena. Spiel already stood there, slowly cracking his neck and knuckles in preparation for the battle.

Jill looked again toward the audience, where Joy, Tails, and Whisker were. The three of them were still there, and Joy was looking again; wanting to make sure that her mother would beat that mean, vicious bully.

Then she turned back to Spiel. Her emotions were already boiling with rage, and sorrow, but mostly adrenaline. She wasn't going to lose to him, and that was that.

As Miser was unavailable, King had taken the microphone instead. "Alright, people, this is the last battle of our tournament! On my left, we have Jillian Condit, and on my right, we have Spiel Gierig! Who will come out on top? That's what we're here to find out! So let's battle!"

"...alright, Jillian." Spiel chuckled, looking down at her. "I'll make sure to make this quick; wouldn't want your daughter to worry, you know."

Jill didn't care anymore now. So she finally spoke aloud.

"This is _NOT_ going to be a short battle, Spiel," she growled, making the audience gasp again. "And your arrogance is pissing me off more than I already am."

"Oh, someone's touchy." Spiel chuckled, folding his arms. "But I'm not being arrogant; I'm being considerate. I keep you pinned, you lose, and you get to go home with little Joy in one piece." Then, he shook his head. "I'm such a saint; it's making me misty-eyed..."

"You? A saint?" Jill scoffed. "Tsch... I've been through too much to just hand over the battle to you." And she got in a fighter's stance, focusing with intense hatred on him.

"...alright, then; if that's the way you want it." Spiel chuckled, as he got in a stance as well. "Just don't come crying to me when you get hurt, Jill."

"I think I can handle it." So Jill ran at Spiel, throwing a punch. However, much like others who had tried, her punch failed to make him even flinch. With a grin, Spiel threw a punch of his own right at Jill. It hurt a lot, and Jill sailed across the arena landing on her feet again. After she recovered, she let out a yell and returned with a kick this time. Once again, Spiel didn't even flinch. "Come on; are you even trying?" he laughed, before throwing another punch at her.

This time, Jill didn't fly.

In fact, she just caught the fist instead, and held it back, looking back with eyes that flared up with a green glow.

"I want you to shut up, Spiel," She growled.

"...hm?" Spiel hummed, as he tilted his head. "What's this, now? Added resolve?"

"...I'm going to regret doing this," she muttered, pointing her other hand at him. "But now I don't even care anymore." Spiel didn't even have time to react to the powerful blast of dark green energy that her hand shot right at his chest.

It knocked the air out of him, and sent him rocketing towards a wall, which he slammed into. Coughing, he looked at Jill with a bemused expression. "...well, now..." he uttered, before grinning. "...this might be more entertaining than I expected."

Joy just looked at her mother with a baffled look. She never knew that she could do that. "...Mama..."

"Make your move," Jill said, shifting to her stance again.

"How polite." Spiel chuckled, as he stepped away from the wall, cracking his neck. "But you shouldn't act too confident in your victory yet, Jill." he added, before running at her with another punch. Jill just grabbed his fist again, and hurled him right over her onto the ground. Somehow, like Metal, she had no trouble doing it this time. "Gnh..." Gritting his teeth whilst still grinning, Spiel got back up, before he swung his arm right at Jill.

Jill blocked with her own arm, and once her arm was coated with dark Unity energy, she threw it right at Spiel's face.

This time, the punch sent him skidding back quite a bit, and now, a gash had been torn across his forehead from the force of the punch. Placing a hand there, Spiel grinned. "...not bad." he commented.

Jill didn't make any response to that comment, and she rushed at Spiel with more of those Unity punches.

Joy was beyond stunned.

"...Tais," she uttered frightfully. "...what's goin' on with Mama?"

Tails simply looked at this battle, unable to answer Joy. _...she's... able to use her powers again... _he thought, as he watched Spiel take the punches; however, he made no visible effort to block them.

"Come on, Jill!" Spiel laughed after a while. "I can tell that you wanna do so much more than these puny punches! So go on; show me what you can do!"

Jill growled.

"...Alright."

Then she grabbed him by the collar and launched him into the air, leaping after him with much more merciless punches, faster and more powerful with Unity than what she had been doing before. And all right into his gut while in the air. However, even as one could see that he was getting pretty beat up from this, he kept that grin present, even chuckling as best he could whilst being pummeled.

It was then that Jill grew more aggressive than ever before.

She kicked him down to the ground, hard enough to make a crater beneath him. Then upon landing, she threw him up into the air and repeated the same punches. After her second time of throwing down Spiel, something grew from her back when she landed.

The eyes of the audience widened, when they witnessed one shoulder possessing an angelic wing, and the other shoulder, a black demonic wing. She picked Spiel up again and took him up in flight, doing the same method of punches to him yet again, and after she finished, she spun him by his leg, and slammed him down in a seismic toss on the ground. The impact from that created a blanket of dust that covered him from view, leaving it ambiguous whether or not he was still conscious from that.

Then that familiar red aura exploded from within the dust cloud, before Spiel suddenly grabbed part of the arena, tore a huge chunk of it out from the ground, and hurled it right up at Jill with incredible force behind it.

Just when it would look like Jill would be hit, the giant chuck suddenly split in half, and were hit away so that they didn't fall on top of the audience.

And Jill descended down, with her golden blade in her hands, shocking everyone even more.

Watching her descend, Spiel laughed. "There we go! I knew you were holding back all this time!" Then, he cracked his neck. "But you know, it's unfair to use a sword against an unarmed man. Perhaps I should get something to make up for that?"

"Were you fair when you pummeled the living daylights out of Metal?" Jill growled. "No." Her blade disappeared anyhow, and a dark green aura of Unity appeared around Jill, rivaling Spiel's crimson aura around him.

"Touché." Spiel chuckled, as the two auras were starting to crack the ground beneath the two fighters, both of the staring their opponent down. "Well, then... you'd better not disappoint me, Jillian." he said, as he got in a fighting stance. "Not when you've gotten me this pumped up!"

Jill outstretched her arms, and a large amount of Unity collected at her palms.

"So...where did you get your power?"

And she threw both beams right at Spiel.

"Where I got my power?" Spiel laughed, as he actually caught both of the beams with his hands, throwing them to the ground. "Do you think I just lucked out and found some ancient artifact that enhanced my power, or something?" he added, before he raised his fists. "Only weak-ass pansies would gain their power from those kinds of methods!" Then, he punched the ground with enough force to send it rushing at Jill in a massive wave of debris and dirt.

Jill crossed her arms to brace it, and when it was gone, she simply walked ahead like that hadn't done anything. "I asked you a question," she continued. "And that's not the answer I was looking for." When she whipped her hand aside, a giant slash wave of Unity shot at Spiel.

Before it could reach him, Spiel stomped the ground with enough force to raise the earth in front of him, creating a barrier that took the slashing wave of Unity for him. "I didn't get my power from anywhere but myself!" he said, as he grabbed hold of the ground again. "Years of training got me to where I am today, little Jillian!" he added, before he ripped his hands upwards, actually lifting up a great chunk of earth, which threatened to collapse on top of the ewe.

Jill jumped right at the earth Spiel threw, punching it. The punch actually shattered it apart, and with that, she returned to approaching Spiel slowly.

The audience cowered in fear at these two titans.

"...now, what about you?" Spiel chuckled, as he began slowly approaching Jill as well. "Where'd you get those fancy powers of yours from?"

"I had inherited a slightly different power from my mother," She answered, clenching her fists the closer she got. "But with a friend, we created a brand new power that I gained only after conquering death."

The audience gasped at the drama.

Joy had no idea what Jill was talking about, but she was so scared at what was happening that she clutched to Tails. He, too, held onto Joy to try and comfort her, merely looking at this battle.

"Conquering death?" Spiel chuckled. "I knew you were something different from the usual riff-raff, but not to that extent. This is certainly interesting!"

"Well, unlike some people, I didn't want to boast about myself," Jill replied. "Not like I could anyway, since I didn't even have the ability to do so not too long ago." With that, she threw a punch surrounded by a tornado of Unity, with the kind of expected impact it would hit with. However, Spiel simultaneously threw a punch of his own resulting in the two fists meeting, locking both of them in a standstill. A mighty blast of air exploded around them from the sheer power lying in the collision of those punches.

Jill pushed against this with a lot of effort. However, so did Spiel, as he made sure to not let her push him away, with that grin still present on his face.

The two didn't budge, or change the tide of things. They stayed there.

Jill even closed her eyes, and Spiel could see a tear fly away from one of her eyes. "...why?" she asked. "Why didn't you have any mercy?"

Spiel blinked. "...you mean when I beat Metal?" he inquired, before frowning. "What's it to you?"

"...let's say, that we've been through a lot together," she replied.

Somehow, she was managing to push forward. However, Spiel ignored that. "...I live by the saying "eat or be eaten", Jillian." he said, actually growing serious. "In war, ya can't show any sort of mercy, or let your feelings get in the way of things." As he spoke, he was also beginning to push forward. "Let your enemies live, and they can come and stab you in the back. I got too great plans to let a moment of weakness like that be the death of me."

Jill continued to resist. "...that's a given," she murmured. "But not all of your enemies would come back to haunt you. Someone I knew was once my enemy in the beginning...and now they're so close to me that I would give up my life again to protect them." She took her other hand and conjured up some more Unity energy to add to the struggle.

Still, Spiel did not relent. "...I take no chances, Jill." he grunted, not even the faintest hint of amusement in his tone any longer. "You might've lucked out... but I can't trust anyone I've fought not to try and take revenge on me. Better safe than sorry, right?"

Jill frowned, and opened her eyes. "Funny. I would think you'd know about changing people more than me, but I guess not." She took her hand again, and this time the Unity she blasted was enough to break the struggle they were in, and she hopped away quickly to get away from him.

"...I don't believe in working with my enemies." Spiel scoffed, as the aura around him actually faded away. "I only work with those who I don't consider an enemy, and who doesn't consider me an enemy in return. That's all there is to it."

Jill was about to open her mouth to speak, but then-

"HELP!"

Everyone in the entire arena gasped; audience members were standing up from their seats, and Jill's aura also vanished, turning to see someone running into the arena.

"Somebody please help!" It was Milo, and he sure looked flustered. "The jungle's on fire, and it's spreading rapidly!"

"Say what?" King uttered, as he quickly glanced at Milo. "It's on fire? When did that happen?"

"I-I don't know, but we found out about it only seconds ago a-and Tasha's out there all alone, trying put it out!"

A grave look appeared on Jill's face.

"...EVERYONE!" King yelled into the microphone, gritting his teeth. "Forget about the tournament! Right now, we need to put out the fire ASAP! We can't let the fire spread too far out!"

Everyone moved swiftly without question, pushing around and filing into the halls toward the exit. Jill brought back her wings, which totally threw Milo off his guard. "Jill?"

She didn't pay any mind to him though, and she took off into the air to get to the danger as quick as possible through flying. Looking up at where she went, Spiel frowned, before he glanced at King, who tried directing everyone in a more controlled manner. With a scoff, the pig silently left the arena.

"Aar..." Whisker uttered, looking at everyone rushing out. "...I wonder who could've done 't."

"...so do I..." Tails murmured, as he had been looking up at where Jill flew off. Then, he glanced towards Joy, to see how she was taking this...

...but she was gone. "...Joy?"

Joy, somehow, ended up in a dark hallway. No matter how much she tried to fight everyone, she was getting pushed and shoved farther and farther away. "Wait!" she cried desperately, but no one wanted to wait for the 3 year old in the urgency of the situation. So she sank beneath the sea of soldiers that hurried outside.

In the midst of the chaos, Joy felt someone take her arm. "This way," she heard someone utter, but with the crowd of soldiers moving like this, Joy couldn't discern who it was from either their voice or appearance. Still, the tone seemed friendly. Joy just closed her eyes to deal with the unpleasantness of this, trusting whoever it was that took her.

After a while, the sound of crowding soldiers rushing past them died out, and everything turned silent. "...you're alright?" the stranger supposed.

"M-hm," Joy nodded, opening her eyes.

"Good." However, she saw someone she'd hoped she'd never see at all.

Kiri.

Before Joy could react, however, the owl suddenly pressed some cloth against the little ewe's face, with something smelly on it. Joy was going to scream and fight, but the cloth somehow made her very sleepy. Her eyes were so heavy that she finally conked out.

Kiri merely giggled. "All too easy. I can't believe that Diablo couldn't pull something like this off." she said, before sighing. "Oh, well. Now, I need one more..." With that, she began dragging Joy away, into the darkness.


	18. Chapter 18

_**5 Years Later – Chapter Eighteen…**_

"Oh no!" Oblivion gasped, looking down from the tippy-top of the mountain. Both Charon and Jack looked down from there as well, seeing the massive fire that had erupted in the jungle.

"Man! Who could've done that?" Jack uttered in absolute shock.

"...I don't know..." Charon muttered, before he looked away uneasily. "...but given our luck... and not to mention my track record... the blame will probably be pinned on me."

"...how could you say that?" Jack said, as he glanced at Charon. "You didn't do it; I can vouch for you!"

"...but who'd believe that it wasn't me, aside from you two?" Charon inquired.

"I'm sure there are plenty of others who could've done it," Oblivion murmured. "...I'm thinking of one right now." And whom she supposed was the most likely, after all the events she went through the past week.

"...who do you think it is?" Jack uttered, as he glanced at Oblivion.

"...it's still too soon to make guesses, though," she simply said. While her chances of being right were higher, judging the character of who she thought. "Should we go down there to help put the fire out?"

And she asked the question because while she wanted to help, she knew the status of her and Charon. Would it really be safe for them to go down there? What if all the soldiers down there were still looking for them?

"...probably not." Charon murmured. "There's sure to be a lot of chaos stirring amongst the soldiers now... if I show myself there, they'd get too disoriented to focus properly on the fire. Let's stay safe, and pray that they put it under control."

Oblivion looked back down at the scene with uneasiness, taking some gratitude that, at least, they were safe.

* * *

_...darkness again... haven't seen this in a while. It's a blur, though... the blood loss must be getting to me._

_I wonder... what did everyone think, while Spiel was beating me to within an inch of my life? Did Joy see it all? What about Jill? They must be worried about me... not that I can blame them..._

_...it's times like this, when I curse this organic body of mine._

_"...Metal..."_

_It was a voice, and while it was familiar...it was a voice I had not heard in such a long time._

_Hearing this voice, I blinked. That voice... it couldn't be... "...Goddess?"_

_The blurry image of Jill's ghostly mother appeared to me. Long ago, she had worn a dark cloak, but now she was garbed in clothes of white. Even if it was blurry, she was definitely in plain sight. All I really could make out was her grief-ridden face. _

_"...why..." I managed to utter, as I began approaching her. "...why are you here?" Not that I minded the alternative company (because lord knows, Novagod was a pain), but... seeing her within my own subconscious was strange._

_"...hell hath broken loose," she simply answered. "While you are unconscious, chaos is brewing outside."_

_"...there's not much I can do about that right now, though..." I murmured, folding my arms. "Thanks to Spiel, my body's more damaged than ever before... even I'm a little suprised that I'm still alive."_

_"...I'm so sorry," she muttered with her head lowering. "...I realize this...but...my granddaughter...she..."_

_"...granddaughter..." I uttered. "...you mean Joy?" Hearing her say this in that sort of tone put me on edge, as I stumbled towards her. "...did something happen to Joy?"_

_"...she was..." she swallowed. Goddess, acting this nervous? It was very unsettling. "...taken."_

_"...taken?" I uttered, looking at her with wide eyes. No... no, she couldn't have been... who could've taken her? _

_...don't tell me... _

_"...who took her, Goddess?" I said more firmly, approaching her. "Who took Joy? Tell me."_

_"...another child," she answered hesitantly. "One who has an unruly intent..."_

_"...Kiri." I uttered. I only knew of one other child on the island who could fit that sort of description. And with her being with Diablo... "...I need to help Joy." I finally said.  
_

_Goddess took my shoulders. "You must," she agreed. "That child, Metal...you have no idea the power she has...but she is too young to understand, and she is so vulnerable..."_

_"...I have an idea of what sort of potential she has, Goddess." I uttered, placing a hand on one of her hands. "...but that's not why I'm going to help her. I'm helping her because she's..." I briefly stopped; I was going to say that it was because she was Jill's daughter, when my mind recalled when Joy had called me her father... "...our... daughter..." I uttered without thinking._

_Goddess stared at me, having heard that._

_A small, sad smile actually appeared on her._

_"...then I mustn't hold you back," she muttered._

In that instant, Metal woke up, looking up at the ceiling. His entire body ached as he sat up; how he was able to even do this, he had no idea about. _...Joy... I have to..._ he thought, as he glanced to his side...

...when he spotted a note lying on a desk beside him. Blinking, he picked it up and read it. "...vi have Joy. Eef u vant her bak, follov map. Kiri." It was crudely written, but on the back of the note was an intricate map, with a large X marking something. _...clever little brat... _he thought, before he slowly stood up from the bed he was lying in. Even if his body had been broken like this, he would save her.

He _had_ to save her.

With that driving him, he limped out of the room.

* * *

"...no...no...no!" This couldn't be happening! Tasha simply wasn't enough on her own power to put out the flames; the bucket was too small, and there was little water at each pour. The flames were growing much quicker than she could handle.

"Tasha!" Suddenly, someone ran out from the wildlife behind her, sounding like they were out of breath. "Tasha... thank goodness, you're alright!" King uttered, before looking at the fire. "...tsch... do you know who started it?"

"I don't know!" Tasha cried in despair. "But my village is in there! My people!" she was ready to cry with how much she worried. "My father!"

"...don't worry, Tasha." King said reassuringly, placing a hand on her shoulder. "We're gonna make sure that they'll make it out alright." Then, he glanced behind him. "Alright, everyone! Let's douse this wildfire!"

From out of nowhere, more buckets came, and the flames were showered with much more water than Tasha anticipated. She was astonished how many had come to help.

In the skies above, Jill was surveying the damage. The fire was covering a wide diameter of the jungle, and it was scary how much of it was already crisp and black. What made it worse was that it wasn't just burning trees and plants; there were homes down there. That was Tasha's village on fire.

She had to try and help those trapped in their homes.

So she dove down at the burning buildings.

She landed in an area that wasn't burning, and while her wings disappeared, she looked around. She avoided the obviously doomed houses that where nothing but embers, and she made sure to check each house. So far, she didn't find anyone.

She looked long enough that she was beginning to wonder what had happened to everyone.

That's when she heard the muffled sound of someone crying. Spinning around, Jill saw a building that had been untouched by the flames, but it was pretty darn close to being caught in the blaze. When she found that the door was locked, she broke in with a kick.

There, sitting in the home were many different jungle cats, all of them holding to each other in fear at the sight of Jill.

"Don't worry, I'm here to help you all," Jill assurred, which eased them, but not entirely.

"Please," one of them stepped forward and grabbed Jill. "Our Chieftain, he is dying! You must help him!" They didn't even give Jill a chance to respond, and they yanked her to one of the jungle cats lying on the ground. An elderly one, yet far from frail with his magnificent build.

Unfortunately, he was missing a leg, and he was bleeding quite severely. Had it been any other kind of injury, Jill would've been able to heal it, but when a body part was cut off there was nothing Jill could do. She felt so helpless.

Coughing, the Chieftain looked up at her. "Who...are you?" she sputtered.

"...My name is Jill," the ewe replied. "I'm going to help you and your people to safety."

The Chieftain's head fell on the floor weakly. "...Jill..." Jill looked at him oddly, wondering why he looked so thoughtful. "...I remember your name," he muttered.

Jill was surprised. "...really?"

"Yes...you are the reason this village is on fire." The Chieftain lunged at her, trying to choke her.

The other jungle cats pried him away from her, letting Jill catch her breath in shock. "...Me?"

"This village burning is only a diversion..." he coughed more blood. "...for you."

Jill looked at this dying man, feeling so horrible within herself. What could he possibly mean by that? "...who did this?" she uttered.

"...I don't even know his name, but he took my leg, and soon it will be my life," the Chieftain replied. "My time is likely very short-" he let out a rough cough, spitting out more blood.

"...oh Chieftain," wept another jungle cat. All of them were looking down at him with teary eyes, unable to watch their strong leader so low like this.

He finally could clear his throat. "I want you to send a message to my daughter, should you run into her..." he uttered. "...Tell her...I am sorry for not supporting her. And while I was hard on King, he has been the most respectable leader I've met, who's honored the demands of an old and grumpy cat." He looked up at Jill with a look that made Jill feel very weak; a look of genuine guilt. "I am proud of them, and I am sure my daughter will make a fine leader to my people..."

Jill swallowed when he coughed again, much more severely than before. It wouldn't be long now... "...w-who's your daughter?"

"Her name is..." The Chieftain closed his eyes and took his last breath. "...Tasha..."

Moments passed, and one of the jungle cats checked the Chieftain's pulse. "...he's..." he could even say it. It was too much distress for him and his fellow tribe members, who started sobbing.

Jill was just sort of frozen. After all, she's had a history of watching people die, and while she should have been used to it...it was a little hard on her too.

"HEEEY!" At that point, the cats could see a trio of soldiers standing in the doorway; a male squirrel, a female gecko and a male sparrow. "Everyone, hurry up!" the sparrow called. "We've got the fire under control for now, so let's go!"

"...wait..." the squirrel uttered. "...isn't that Jillian? How'd she get here before us?"

"What, you didn't see her fly off into the sky?" the gecko muttered sarcastically. "Come on; the faster we get out of here, the better." she said to the cats, with concern in her voice, rather than the sarcasm aimed at the squirrel.

The cats immediately got up and left the building, but Jill was still sort of stuck there, staring at the dead Chieftain before her. She was processing the information she just got, but there was lag because of her emotions. How was she going to break it to Tasha about her father? She was never any good with notifying the loved ones of death; she had always just walked away from it before.

And...what about the fact that this was a diversion? For her?

"...hey." At this point, the gecko had entered the building, placing a hand on Jill's shoulder. "We need to get going. It's too bad, but... right now, we can't do anything for him."

Jill looked up at her, and nodded, standing up.

Outside, everyone was having more luck fighting the flames, and Tasha was starting to ease up a bit. She even grew hopeful when she started to see her people coming through without any injuries.

"...alright..." King muttered, just as the sparrow and squirrel returned. "Ah, there you are. Did the evac work out?"

"Yes, sir!" the sparrow said, giving King a salute. "We searched every building, and got everyone out!"

"Good..." King nodded, as he folded his arms. "...wait... where's Slick?"

"Slick?" the squirrel uttered, as he glanced around him. "...huh. I thought she went with us..."

"...is that her?" Tasha asked with a point, seeing two more figures running through the flames. When the figures were closer, they could see that it was that female gecko, and Jill was running alongside her. "Look, there's Jill!"

"Wha- Jill?" King uttered, turning to see them running towards them. "How'd she get there?"

"Flying, sir." the sparrow said.

"Kinda weird, but..." the squirrel commented.

"Alright, Nuttah, Fawkes; shut up." Slick murmured once she and Jill reached the group, before she looked at King. "Everyone's accounted for."

"Wait!" Tasha was looking at all of the evacuees, and starting to grow worried again. "Where's my father?"

Jill looked pained, looking down at the ground. "...Jill?" King uttered, as he glanced at the ewe. "Do you know something?" Tasha turned to Jill when she heard King, and soon all the attention was directed at Jill.

"...Tasha..." The linx's ears jumped, because unlike most, this was the first that she heard her speak, and she was dead silent. "...your father...he..." Slick glanced at Jill with an understanding look; while she wanted to help relieve some of the burden off Jill's shoulders, she didn't want to bring the bad news so quickly. As such, she merely waited for Jill to continue.

Tasha kept staring at Jill, and the longer she was silent, the more she could guess what the news was...

...and she was growing more distressed every minute.

"...no...it's not true," she uttered, taking Jill by the shoulders. "You can't mean to say that my father...?"

Jill looked up at Tasha sadly. "...I'm so sorry Tasha..." she muttered. "...he's dead."

Hearing that, King's eyes widened briefly, before he closed them out of respect, lowering his head.

"...no..." Tasha stepped away from Jill, incapable of grasping the very concept that her only beloved, living relative was now gone. Her head sank and she shut her eyes to hold back the tears, with shuddering shoulders.

"...FATHER!" Then she made a dash toward the flames. She was lucky that Jill grabbed her before the flames could touch her.

"You can't!" Jill protested, holding a struggling Tasha back. "If you go back in there you might be trapped, and we won't be able to save you again until it's too late!"

But Tasha ignored her, crying in her hysteria. "NOOO! FATHER!"

Clenching his hands, King glanced towards Slick, Nuttah and Fawkes. "You three lead the villagers to Safe Haven, and let them recuperate. We'll catch up."

"...got it." Slick nodded, before she and her comrades went ahead, leading the other jungle cats away from the scene.

Then, King took a deep breath, before he walked over to Jill and Tasha, helping the ewe with keeping Tasha from rushing into the inferno; though he was gentler about it. Somehow with King's touch, Tasha settled a little bit, but she was overwhelmed with sorrow as she wept, watching the fire rage on. King looked at the fire as well, though with a hardened gaze; death was something he was used to, and as horrible as it was at times, he knew how to cope with it, whilst also knowing how others would react to it.

Thankfully, Tasha got to a point where she didn't struggle anymore, and Jill allowed her to let King hold her while she cried in his shoulder. Then the ewe looked back at the flames as well.

All this...a diversion...

...but for what?

_"JILL! JILL!"_ At that point, an orange blur suddenly flew around the ewe, pulling at her hair to get her attention. _"It's horrible! Really horrible!"_

"What? What is it?" Jill asked quickly.

_"It's horrible! Really horrible!"_ After pulling her away enough, the figure fluttered in front of her, revealing it to be Tails Doll. _"I didn't think it could happen, but... Big Bro... and Joy... they've both been... kidnapped!"_

Jill stared at Tails Doll in disbelief. "...what?"

"I wish this was a joke, but it isn't!" Tails Doll said frantically. "You have to listen!"

_Glancing out the window of the pirate ship, Tails Doll tilted his head. "...the jungle's on fire? Who could've done that?" he mused to himself, before he quickly fluttered out towards the main deck. "Man... I hope everyone's alright. I should go check on them!" With that in mind, the small plushie flew out into the jungle, with only one thing on his mind: Getting to the arena._

_After a while, however, he spotted someone limping through the jungle. Hiding to get a better look, Tails Doll saw that it was Metal, whose entire body was bloodied and beaten. "...Big Bro..." he uttered silently. Wondering what had happened to Metal, Tails Doll decided on following the hedgehog, without getting himself noticed._

_It took a few minutes before they came across a small shack, which certainly had seen better days. As Metal slowly walked towards the door, Tails Doll sneakily fluttered towards one of the windows, carefully peeking into it... and what he saw was a shocker._

_There, both gagged and bound to a chair, was Joy, who seemed to be knocked out cold. Walking around her, with a sizeable knife in her hands, was Kiri, who smirked mischievously. "...he should be here any moment now, Big Brother." she chuckled._

_"...good," muttered a voice from the darkness. _

_If Tails Doll had eyelids, he would've blinked. "...what are they-" he uttered, when all of a sudden, the door was blown open._

_"...release her." Metal uttered murderously, glaring at the small owl with a dark look in his eyes._

_"...oh. You came, Metal." Kiri said with a smile, as she looked at the hedgehog. "...you look dreadful."_

_"...that's nothing..." Metal growled, clenching his fists. "...compared to... what you'll look like... if you don't release her...!"_

_"And just what are you going to do to us, in that state?" Out of the darkness walked a familiar black and white leopard, with his arm in a cast. "Wow, somehow I ended up being the luckier one."_

_Tails Doll gasped. "Diablo!"_

_"...you..." Metal growled, his gaze shifting towards Diablo. "...what luck... looks like I can nail two birds with one stone... now-"_

_"Think fast." All of a sudden, Metal felt a sharp pain enter his gut, and when he looked down, a knife was lodged into it._

_"...kkh... wha..." With the bloodloss he had already suffered, the shock from this was enough to make him fall unconscious, collapsing onto the floor._

_"...he'll live." Kiri said in a carefree tone, as she skipped over to him, before pulling the knife out of his body. "Big Brother, could you tie him up and place him next to Joy?" she asked, before looking at the leopard. "We need to prepare for the guest of honor."_

_Diablo managed to pick up Metal with his free hand and sit him up with some rope._

_"...n-no..." Tails Doll uttered, slowly moving away from the window in horror. "...J-Joy... B-Big Bro..." he uttered, holding his hands to his head. "...I... I need to find someone!" Then, he quickly flew away from the shack, holding his head all the way. "I... need to find Jill!"_

_"...and then, I found you here!"_ Tails Doll finished, trying to calm down. _"So... we need to hurry, Jill!"_

Jill was...beyond horrified to learn of this.

_No...not those two...not my little girl...and not Metal..._

Her body felt like it was crumbling under the emotions that were rising inside her.

"WHERE ARE THEY?" she uttered, grabbing Tails Doll.

_"Aah- I told you!"_ Tails Doll said. _"They're in a shack in the jungle! I remember the route I flew to get here, so just follow me, and I'll take you there!"_

"Hurry!" Jill let him go. "HURRY, PLEASE!"

_"Of course!" _Tails Doll nodded, as he began flying off. _"But you gotta hurry, too!"_

Oh Jill was going to hurry alright; she ran as fast as she could after Tails Doll, sometimes running faster than the doll could fly.

_Joy, Metal, hang on! _she thought desperately.

* * *

Walking into a dark room, Spiel glanced around him. "...everyone's here?" he muttered, as he glanced to his side, where Krieg stood.

"...aside from Oblivion and Charon, everyone's here." Krieg nodded.

"Good." Spiel hummed, before he took a seat by a table. "Now... my friends... let's talk." As it turned out, sitting by the table along with Spiel were several other soldiers, who had snuck off during the chaos the fire had caused.

"Wow, what a convenient distraction, huh?" Blitz was one of the solders among here, folding his arms.

"I just hope that it won't do too much damage..." Maya, too, was there, sitting in Ruki's lap whilst tinkering with an airsoft pistol.

"I am sure that King will keep it under control." Among them was also the mandrill, who twirled his lighter in his grasp with a easy-going attitude.

"Of course; but this gives us an excellent opportunity." Also among them was the stag, who simply had his arms folded.

"Dude, let the leader, like, speak, you know," The parrot was another addition to the cast in the dark room, turning down his music enough to listen.

"Thank you." Spiel chuckled, as he held his hands together. "Now, I'm sure you all realize that the moment is just right."

"...moment?" Ruki uttered, tilting her head a bit. "What moment?"

"Silly goose!" Maya said with a huge smile. "The moment Uncle Spiel has been waitin' for the past five years!"

"I'm glad to see that you're excited about this, Maya." Spiel chuckled.

"Well, don't leave us hanging," another was that dark blue falcon, raising his sunglasses up. "Tell us."

"Oh, you'll all find out in time." Spiel chuckled. "Now, the time calls for acting subtly." Then, he glanced towards Krieg. "Will's men have been informed, yes?"

"They've taken their positions, Spiel." Krieg nodded.

"Good." Spiel chuckled, before he turned back to the group. "Now, this whole operation hinges on one thing; namely, Sage not spoiling it. As you all are aware of, she's psychic, and she could find out about the plan in an instant."

"...so, you say that we need to take her out?" the stag suggested, raising an eyebrow.

"Not at all, Marlo." Spiel chuckled. "We just need to keep her occupied, and let everything flow from there. And with the fire erupting and the village in danger, she's bound to stay occupied for a while."

"But what if she's not there?" Blitz asked.

"That's where Will's gang comes into play." Spiel chuckled. "They're not in on this, you see, and think that they're only supposed to cause some mischief. They don't know a thing about the bigger picture."

"...so we use them as distractions for Sage to deal with..." the mandrill hummed.

"Exactly, Phyrra." Spiel nodded. "And if we're lucky, Queen and Miser will be dealing with them as well."

"...so what of the rogue elements?" Marlo mused. "Do you intend to let the likes of Teams Alpha, Chaotix and those "pirates" get in the way?"

"Hey, you saw it; they can't hold their own for too long." Spiel chuckled. "They're small fries... besides, once we're done, they won't matter."

"...just what are you planning, Spiel?" Ruki uttered after a while, looking at the pig nervously.

Hearing that, Spiel glanced back at her, grinning. "...you wanna know?" he chuckled. "...well, let's just say that... as great a leader as King is, his goals are far too... shortsighted."

"I agree," remarked the falcon. "And he's too full of himself, really."

"Now, now, Francis; let's not badmouth King, here." Spiel chuckled. "He's done such a great job with constructing this nation..." Then, he grinned. "...but really, the only reason he got it off the planning stages was due to me."

"...you...?" Ruki uttered.

"Why, yes!" Spiel laughed. "I was one of the original founders of Safe Haven, and I'm responsible for building some of the buildings around here; the arena included." Then, he sighed. "Good times... but we can't just look to the past. We need to look towards the future."

"Why so?" Maya hummed.

"Think, now!" Spiel said, standing up. "We have an army of hundreds of more than battle-capable soldiers, all specially trained for a greater purpose than just sitting on an island for the remainder of our days! This "warrior nation" of King's, noble though it may be, is an unrealistic concept to begin with! What worth is a soldier who doesn't fight?"

"Hey Dude," the parrot said, turning off his music completely. "What about that, like, woman you were fighting in the tournament? Her name's Jillian, right? Ain't she gonna try and stop you?"

Francis looked thoughtful. "...damn, I've never seen anyone else with that kind of power..." and to think he was hitting on her just last night.

"Relax; Jillian is clueless." Spiel chuckled. "Though, her power is fascinating...the moment anyone can get a hold of Raider, perhaps he could fill us all in on what that would be."

"...what makes you say that?" Ruki uttered, growing a bit uneasy.

"It doesn't matter." Spiel said, before he stood up. "What matters is only one thing... and that is to prepare the army for the purpose it was meant for..." Then, he grinned wildly. "...in other words... King must step down as the leader of Safe Haven. And then,_ I'll _take charge of the place."

There was applause.

"Now..." Spiel chuckled, as he turned away, slamming his knuckles against each other. "...the rule of Spiel Gierig begins! Let's move!"

* * *

"...wake up, Joy..." the young ewe could faintly hear, as something was clapping against her cheek. "...time to wake up..."

Joy moaned a little, wanting that to stop, but she was waking up nonetheless. The first thing she knew was that she couldn't move, and so she opened her eyes.

"Ah, you're awake." The first thing she saw was Kiri, who gave her a sweet smile. "I was beginning to wonder if the mixture I gave you was too great... well, no matter; you have a guest." Then, taking hold of Joy's head, she forcibly turned it to her left, so she could see Metal bound and gagged by her side; as it turned out, he was out cold.

Joy gasped in despair. "METOH!"

"Oh, don't worry." Kiri giggled, skipping over to Metal as well. "He's alive... but whether or not he stays that way depends on certain things." Then, she took hold of the hedgehog's chin, lifting it up. "...but why would anyone mourn his death...? After all he's done..."

"...what?" Joy was really too scared right now, but what Kiri said intrigued her.

"...you mean you don't know?" Kiri hummed, as she glanced at Joy. "You mean you don't know a single thing about Metal Sonic?"

"...Metoh...Sonic?" He had never told Joy his full name; he just called himself Metal. Memories of that vision she had flashed back to her. That cold, scary looking robot...

"...so you don't know." Kiri sighed. "You mean to tell me that you were never told of him even once?" Then, she let go of Metal. "Well, listen up; Metal Sonic isn't an actual Mobian, like you and me... he's a machine, created by Doctor Eggman, many years ago..."

Joy looked at Metal. She didn't want to believe it. He couldn't be a bad scary robot. "...no...you're lying," she said.

"Am I?" Kiri giggled, before she tapped Metal's mechanized eye. "Then explain this..." Then, she motioned towards his robotic leg. "...and that." Then, she folded her arms. "But, where do I start... I do believe hearing stories of him kidnapping one of Sonic the Hedgehog's friends... trying to kill the hedgehog on multiple occassions... one time, he even tried conquering the world in place of Eggman."

As she spoke, images flashed by in Joy's head; images of that blue robot doing exactly what Kiri was describing; carrying an unconscious, pink hedgehog into the sky, battling against the blue hedgehog himself, and even transforming into a massive, monstrous dragon, who tried killing Sonic and several of his friends.

Joy shuddered at what she was seeing, shaking her head in more denial. "...No, it's not true!" but could it be true? Was Metal really a bad guy? He was supposed to be her Daddy! He was supposed to be nice!

"Oh... I almost forgot." Kiri hummed, before chuckling. "I'm sure you know who Shadow the Hedgehog is... but did you know that he was killed?"

As she spoke, Joy saw images of a dying Shadow slowly passing away, lying surrounded by several other people, including her mother.

"...do you want to know who killed him?" Kiri said with a sadistic grin, before she pointed her knife at Metal. "It was him."

In that instant, as if lightning had just struck, Joy saw Shadow being skewered by a silvery tendril, right in front of her mother... and the tendril came from that same, blue robot.

Joy was frozen. "...no..." Tears pushed out of her eyes and her lip shook. "No!" Then finally, the poor little girl broke down crying right there. "NO! YOU'RE LYING!" but it couldn't have been more convincing if she tried. She was utterly shattered to find out that her Daddy was really the bad robot made by Eggman, one of the most evil people who lived.

"...don't worry, Joy." Kiri said with that sickeningly sweet tone of hers, as she approached Joy, placing a hand on her cheek. "Your mother loves you very much... so you don't have to worry about that mean, cold, nasty robot any longer after tonight."

Joy pulled away from her hand and kept crying. "Metoh's my Daddy! He's not supposed to be a mean, scary robot!"

"...please." Kiri scoffed. "Do you even think he loves you, the way you love him?" Then, she turned towards Metal again. "He's a machine. They can't feel emotions. How can you be certain that he didn't just... fake his affection for you?"

"Metoh wouldn't fake!" All of this was breaking her poor little heart, and while she protested, she was starting to believe the opposite. "HE WOULDN'T FAKE!"

"...he would." Kiri giggled, removing Metal's gag. "In fact... I want you to ask him, if what I've said has been true or n-AGH!"

At that point, something had coiled itself around Kiri's neck, choking her; something silvery. "...you... little... brat..." As it turned out, it was a tendril of sorts, which came from Metal, whose mechanized eye slowly flickered back to life; however, from both of his eyes, tears were running down.

"Kkh... you were..." Kiri choked, trying to break free. "...still... conscious...?"

Joy fell dead silent, watching this in fear.

"...you're..." Kiri spat. "...only... proving... my point..."

Gritting his teeth, Metal eventually allowed the tendril to let go of Kiri, who gasped for air. "...how could you... be so cruel...?"

"...isn't it the truth?" Kiri scoffed, glaring at Metal. "Everything I told Joy was true... wasn't it?" she said, before grinning.

Joy turned away, unable to look at Metal in her sorrow.

"...there is one thing... that you're wrong about, Kiri..." Metal coughed, weakly looking at the owl.

"...and what is that?" Kiri giggled.

"...you said that I felt no love for Joy..." Metal uttered. "...but no matter what my past was like... it doesn't change the fact... that you're absolutely wrong on that subject, Kiri...!"

Joy was afraid to look back, but her crying subsided when she heard that.

"...so you're saying that you do love her?" Kiri hummed, before giggling. "You're a strange case."

"...just you wait..." Metal growled. "...when I get loose... I'll get Joy out of here..."

"...now we can't have that, can we?" Kiri giggled. "Not before our guest of honor shows up."

Hearing that, Metal blinked. "...guest... of honor...?"

"She's coming," Diablo was sitting in a corner of the shack near the door, looking out a window.

"...right on schedule." Kiri giggled. "Just sit tight, and when she enters, make sure that she sees every little detail, Big Brother." she added, before licking the knife's blade. "I want to enjoy this..."

"...you..." Metal uttered, as his eyes widened. "...you're not saying that..."

That's when the door burst open, practically breaking off its hinges. Behind it, standing in the doorway, was Jill. The minute she saw the two, her eyes lit up, but she was still horrified at the situation.

"Mama!" Joy cried out, growing hopeful. Maybe her mother could free her and Metal, and get them out of here and away from these bad people.

Kiri merely giggled at seeing Jill. "How nice of you to join us..." she said, before folding her arms. "...grab her."

Before Jill knew it, someone had grabbed her wrist and twisted it behind her back, making her fall to her knees and stay there. "What's going on?" she demanded.

"We've been waiting for you, Jillian," Diablo spoke, which helped Jill realize he was the one that had a hold on her.

"Yes; for quite a while, actually." Kiri giggled, as she gave Jill a nod. "...now... we're going to be nice, and let you go, with the one you love the most." Then, she smirked evily. "...however... the one you love the least... dies."

Hearing that, Metal shot Kiri a glare. "You brat!" he yelled, before coughing; both the stab wound and the injuries from Spiel made it tough for him to raise his voice.

Jill stared at them in despair.

"So it's up to you to choose which one you love more," Diablo chuckled.

"...but let's be realistic, Jill; this is a no-brainer." Kiri giggled, as she grabbed hold of Metal's head, before bringing the knife to his throat. "Joy's your daughter, so she's obviously the one you love the most."

"No, don't!" Jill uttered, tears appearing in her eyes. "Don't hurt him!"

"Well now? You love Metal more than Joy then?" Diablo asked. "Well, I guess you two could always make another one."

"...you're sick! YOU'RE BOTH SICK!" Jill screamed.

"Oh, so you don't love either of them?" Diablo supposed.

"NO!" Jill was getting more and more upset the longer this went. "I love them both! Very much!"

"Yes, but which one do you love more?" Diablo repeated.

"...is it Metal?" Kiri giggled, as she walked over to Joy, bringing the knife dangerously close to her face. "Or is it Joy? Which is it? Hurry and decide; I want to see someone's eyes rolling into their skulls as they bleed out on the floor... and I want to see it now!"

"Stop it..." Jill begged, crying now. "...don't hurt them...please..." her head fell helplessly. Diablo continued to watch her to see if he could find the signs he was looking for.

"...but you have to understand... we have to hurt one of them, Jill." Kiri said, before she walked over to Metal, raising her knife. "...say it. Say who you love the most... or I'll have to kill both of them. You don't want that to happen... do you?"

Jill started trembling. "No..." Diablo could feel her hand growing a little colder, and a little later on, Jill's breathing grew unsteady, like she wasn't feeling good. Diablo smirked.

"Mama..." Joy could tell something was wrong with her, and she was scared even more.

"...very well..." Kiri hummed, as she turned towards Joy, raising her knife. "...let's start with your daughter. Don't worry... Metal will follow her shortly."

_"NOOO!" _All of a sudden, an orange bolt suddenly slammed into Kiri's hand, forcing her to drop the knife.

"Aaah!" The sudden jolt of that startled Kiri, who stepped back once she saw what had knocked the knife out of her hands. "...what..."

_"...I won't let you hurt Joy or Big Bro..."_ the attacker growled, before pointing at Kiri. _"...ESPECIALLY NOT IN FRONT OF JILL!"_ Tails Doll roared.

"Tais Doh!" Joy uttered out in relief. But Jill didn't move or respond, and Diablo continued to watch her with an evil smile.

"...Tails... Doll..." Metal uttered.

"...Big Brother, where'd this plushie come from?" Kiri uttered, as she quickly glanced towards the leopard. "...hey! Don't just stand there; take care of it! DIABLO!"

_"YAAAH!"_ Hearing that, Kiri quickly spun around, just barely grabbing hold of Tails Doll, who had tried charging at her. _"EAT THIS!" _Then, the gem over his head popped open, and an orange gas was sprayed directly into Kiri's mouth.

Before she could even try and stop this, Kiri felt the gas force its way into her body. She began coughing profusely, letting go of Tails Doll, and clutching at her throat, before she sank to her knees.

Taking advantage of that, Tails Doll grabbed the knife from the ground, before he began cutting open the ropes keeping Metal bound. _"Jill! We have to get out of here, before she recovers!"_

Jill didn't respond.

"...You're too late," Diablo chuckled. "It's happening."

As if him speaking was a trigger, tiny things like Jill's hair, the collars on her jacket; heck, the jacket itself seemed to dance on an unnatural air of defied gravity.

_"...hn?"_ Tails Doll uttered. _"What's going on...?"_

"...no..." Metal uttered, before he shot a look at Tails Doll. Quickly, a tendril took the knife from the plushie, before he cut the ropes apart himself. As he stood up, the tendril cut Joy's bounds as well. "...Callous! Stop it; we have things under control! You don't need to come out!"

That didn't serve any purpose. Jill's power continued to build with a dark aura appearing around her.

"C'mon Callous, don't be shy," Diablo snickered.

Joy clutched to Metal in absolute fright. Metal held onto Joy as well, simply looking at Jill. "...Callous! Are you even listening to me? Stop it!"

Guessing that Diablo was part of the problem, Tails Doll suddenly charged right at the leopard, intending to ram into his gut. _"You stay outta this, you big meanie!"_ Diablo stumbled backward a bit, and this made him release Jill, allowing her to finally stand up. But she didn't bother with Metal or Joy; she simply turned to Diablo and his toad-like grin.

Then she opened her eyes...and Diablo's smile fell.

"...y-you're not...Callous..." he uttered. Jill raised her hand and the force unleashed on Diablo and Tails Doll were so powerful that the two were knocked against the wall of the shack. Then another wave of her hand darkened the surface of the wall behind them, and hands of complete darkness snared both Diablo and Tails Doll. Once the two were successfully trapped, the hands froze and became a dark crystal, keeping them there.

_"AAH!"_ Tails Doll cried. _"BIG BRO! HELP!"_

"...n-not... Callous...?" Metal uttered in shock, as he let go of Joy, merely looking at Jill. "...who..."

_"...I really must thank you, Diablo...for breaking me out of my prison."_ Her voice was in there, but intermixed with another; therefore, it was hard to really distinguish whose voice it was, but it was much deeper, and coarse, and it...hissed.

Then Jill turned around and glared at Metal. Her eyes were not shimmering green, nor a devious red.

They were a pale, cold, icy purple. Eyes that Metal only knew too well.

Metal's eyes widened even further. "...n-no..." he uttered fearfully, shaking his head in denial. Those eyes... that voice... the voice he had heard far, far too often... "...no... no, no, no, NO!" he yelled, suddenly running at Jill and grabbing her shoulders. "How did you escape? You were locked away within me! How... WHY ARE YOU IN HER?"

Jill put a hand between them, and Metal was blasted away with another force, knocking Metal to that wall, and giving him the same treatment as Diablo and Tails Doll; dark hands grabbing him and solidifying into dark crystal to keep him pinned. _"Simple,"_ she answered. _"You put me into her."_

"...wha..." Metal uttered, when his eyes widened. "...no... don't tell me..." Gritting his teeth, he struggled to break free. "...that's why you told me how she could regain her voice? So you could get out of my body?"

_"I could see you were desperate enough to do it, so yes,"_ Jill responded, then looking down at defenseless Joy, who trembled greatly when their eyes locked.

"...you're...you're not my Mama..." Joy uttered, stepping away. "...I know you...you're that bad man that tried to hurt my Mama!"

_"You certainly are keen for someone so young,"_ Jill muttered.

Growling, Metal stirred even more. "You keep your hands away from her... Deity Novagod!" he yelled.

Diablo's eyes widened. "...Deity...Novagod?" Just what had he unleashed?

_"Pity what became of all this,"_ Jill muttered, approaching Joy who stepped away from her more. With that, Jill rose her hand again and a ball of dark energy built up above her palm.

"No, please!" Joy pleaded. All of this was so horrible...Metal was a robot, and now her own mother was going to hurt her; or the bad man that was making her mother do this.

In that instant, however, a silvery tendril suddenly shot around Jill's wrist, yanking it away from Joy. "I told you to leave your hands off her!" Metal yelled, as the tendril was coming from his forehead; as his head wasn't frozen in the dark crystal, he was still able to use his nanotechnology for that.

Jill sent a cold glance his way, and grabbed the tendril, shooting Corruption right into it.

That familiar sensation sent waves of pain flowing through his body; however, he didn't let out a single noise that indicated any pain. "...do you think that I'm as sensitive to this as I was years ago?" he spat, as another tendril shot out, wrapping around Jill's arm. "I've grown resistant, thanks to you trying to overtake me for so long!" In that instant, a pale-green energy shot from that tendril, into her body.

Jill growled, and yanked away free from the tendrils. _"You wouldn't last long at any rate," _she spoke, using both hands to bring out large masses of Corruption. Next thing Metal knew, more hands grabbed his head and sealed it against the wall in more dark crystal. _"I should just finish you off."_

Metal could only grit his teeth, glaring at Jill. "...you... bastard..." he snarled.

"No..." Joy couldn't bear any more of this. There was too much sadness, too many bad things...it was so overwhelming for her that she was done with it. This all had to stop.

So she ran at Jill.

"Leave my Daddy ALONE!"

And pushed her. At first, it would look like a wimpy, light push that would be expected from a 3 year old.

But this push sent Jill clear across the shack, slamming into the wall near the doorway.

Needless to say, this surprised everyone.

"...what..." Metal uttered.

Even Joy was pretty surprised at herself, but the surprise wore off when Jill started getting back up. Then Joy pointed her hands at her mother. Green energy accumulated at her palms. Not only that, but Joy was already crying profusely with tears just pouring.

"I'm so sorry Mama!"

And she shot that energy at Jill, keeping her at bay.

Metal could only gawk at this. "...how... is she..."

_"...Joy..."_ Tails Doll uttered, before he glanced around him. _"...kkh... these crystals... how do we break free?"_

Jill finally pushed away Joy's green energy, and glared at her. _"...pesky little child," _she growled.

Joy looked fearfully up at Jill while she towered over her.

Then Jill stopped. Everything, save for Kiri's diminishing coughs, was silent, as the attention was fully on Jill.

Jill raised her hand, poised to strike Joy, but when the 3 year old flinched, so did Jill. Jill grabbed her head and roared_. "W-what is-s?"_

"GET OUT OF HER BODY YOU STUPID VAMPIRE!" Her voice sounded more normal, and Jill's eyes had flashed red, knocking herself away from Joy against the wall on the other side, clenching her teeth.

_"I thought I locked you away,"_ growled that intermixed, demonic voice, while Jill's eyes flipped to pale purple again.

Then they changed to red again. "It's gonna take a lot more to keep me locked up! You of all people should know that!"

Hearing that voice, Metal's eyes widened. "...Callous?"

Joy looked at Metal when he said that, and looked back at Jill, who was visibly struggling back and forth while muttering so many things to herself in so many voices, and her eyes were flashing colors like a kaleidoscope. "...kkh..." Gritting his teeth, Metal wished that he wasn't constrained by the crystals, and that he could help Jill and Callous right now... after all... this was his doing; his fault. Every now and then, Jill threw dark energy at places, making holes in the shack.

One even hit Joy by accident, and she hit the wall next to Metal. "JOY!" Seeing that, Metal desperately tried getting out of the crystals, but struggling didn't seem to help. In desperation, he began channeling Unity, to try and gain enough power to break free. _Please, let this work..._ he thought. Luckily, the dark crystal started to crack beneath Unity's power.

Jill, meanwhile, still went about her rampage, unaware of Metal slowly breaking free.

Metal shut his eyes, gritting his teeth, and clenched his hands, as the dark-green energy swelled around him. "...I... have... to..." However, without him realizing it, his right arm was slowly turning from an organic arm into a mechanized arm. "...BREAK FREE!" In that instant, Unity exploded around him, shattering the crystals keeping him in place; surprisingly, it also shattered the crystals keeping Tails Doll in place.

Jill shot a look with those purple eyes when she heard the crystal shatter. Then the red eyes pushed out and Jill stomped to the side. "If you won't get out, I'll drive you out!" and stomped to Diablo, grabbing him by the head.

Diablo was petrified. "W-what are you doing?"

Without hesitating, Metal grabbed hold of Joy and Tails Doll fluttered towards him. Gritting his teeth, Metal looked towards Jill and Diablo.

"You two seem like you'd make good friends!" Jill growled, glowing with a dark aura that channeled to the arm on Diablo. "So here ya go!" Something black crawled out of Jill's hand which moved on Diablo's forehead, and spread.

Diablo, feeling an unruly amount of pain from the goo, screamed.

And Jill didn't look too good either. The process was causing strange markings to grow on her; the familiar strange markings that Metal once saw on her long ago. Her hair was also reacting, and strangely enough, it started to grow out at a rapid rate while all of her grew more pale. It looked like the life and years were taken out of her.

The goo kept growing and growing on Diablo, and the moment it covered his mouth, his screams were muffled. When he was almost completely engulfed in the goo, Jill let go.

...and fell.

"...JILL!" Quickly, whilst still holding Joy, Metal lunged forward and grabbed hold of Jill, simply looking at her. "...Jill... please... say something..."

"...take them...out of here..." she growled, looking up at Metal with those red eyes. "...now..." Then her eyes closed and she fell limp, with her now long hair dragging down to the ground.

Gritting his teeth, Metal looked from the glob where Diablo was, to Kiri, who by this point had stopped coughing altogether, before looking down at Jill. "...damn it..." he uttered, before closing his eyes. "...this is... my... fault..." With that, he, Jill, Joy and Tails Doll warped away.

Time passed.

...all of a sudden, the dark crystal around the black glob shattered, and the glob stood up. Then, the goop faded away.

Underneath was the black and white leopard, but this time, he had a different appearance. His once black hair was now white, and stood up in harsh spikes. Diablo's shirt was all ripped apart, leaving the bits of the netting underneath on him. Long, black, demonic wings stuck out from his shoulder blades; perhaps the cause of his shirt ripping apart.

Weakly, Kiri glanced towards Diablo, letting out a few small coughs. "...Di...a...blo...?" she uttered, before collapsing on her back, heaving for her breath.

The leopard opened his eyes, which had now become the same cold, icy purple, and glanced silently over at the owl lying on the ground.

For a while, Kiri simply lied there, breathing heavily...

"...heh."

At that point, Kiri suddenly burst in a maddened laughter, shaking erratically on the ground, her eyes growing wide and her pupils shrinking, as if she had lost her mind. Not to mention, as she was laughing, tears rolled down from her eyes, as if she were deathly afraid of something.

The leopard was simply unfazed by this, and walked over to her to look down at her.

"...h-help me..." Kiri managed to croak, her uproarious laughter not ceasing. "...they-they're coming... they want to kill me..." As she spoke, she turned her head towards the leopard, her body spasming quite a lot. "...dey all wanna kill meh... I like death... but I dun wanna die, Big Bwodder..." At this point, even her speech was beginning to reflect her current state of mind; regressing to a more childish form of speech.

The leopard only spared her a cold blink...

...and then hovered his hand over her. "Then I will grant you a gift that won't let you die," he said. From his palm, the same black goo dripped and landed onto Kiri, growing on her like it did him earlier.

"...I wun die...?" Kiri croaked, as she still both spasmed and laughed, not even fighting the growing goo on her.

"Nope," he assured.

"...th-thank you... Big... Bwoddew..." Kiri managed to croak, before the goo completely enveloped her.

The leopard lowered his hand, and watched the goo take it's toll on the owl. It took a while, before the goo began cracking, sort of like an egg. Once it fully cracked, a dark figure rose from the goo.

It was Kiri; however, like Diablo, she looked completely different now. Her fingers had turned into small, sharp blades, and her dress had become torn in several places. Also, covering her entire body were numerous stitches, giving the impression that she was a ragdoll of sorts. The most prominent of these stitches was one running across her mouth, curved up into what seemed like a smile. And even after the transformation, she was still perpetually giggling and weeping. Tails Doll's maneuver had shattered Kiri's sanity, and not even her newfound transformation could mend that.

"Behold your new power, Kiri," Diablo spoke.

Looking at her hands, Kiri tilted her head, before she wiped away some of her tears; observing them, the tears were dark and reddish. "...new... powa...?" she uttered.

"Yes," Diablo said with a nod. "It's called Corruption, remember?"

"...Co...wup...shon..." Kiri uttered, slowly nodding, amidst her giggling and sobbing. "...yea... I wemembew..."

"I say we go test it out." And Diablo gestured to the doorway. "...shall we?"

"...yea..." Kiri nodded, as she stumbled towards the doorway; again, much like a walking ragdoll. "...I... wanna kill..."

Diablo followed her out. "You'll have your chance."


	19. Chapter 19

_**5 Years Later – Chapter Nineteen...**_

A sudden flash occurred by the outskirts of the jungle, and Metal reappeared there holding Jill, Joy and Tails Doll, who stayed closer to the smaller ewe. "...Jill... Joy..." Metal uttered, as he looked down at the two of them. "...please... hold on..."

_"...Big Bro!" _Tails Doll pointed ahead of them. As it turned out, Jill's malt shop was in spitting distance of them by a lucky stroke. _"We need to get Jill and Joy over there!"_

"...we..." Metal uttered, looking back down at the two.

Jill probably wasn't going to wake up anytime soon, but Joy was starting to stir a little, implying that she would come to. Seeing that, Metal managed a small smile, before he stretched his hand out, creating a wagon out of liquid metal; big enough to be able to fit Jill on.

_"...Big Bro?" _Tails Doll uttered, watching Metal place Jill on the wagon.

"...Tails Doll..." Metal uttered. "...you... get them into the house..." he said, as he looked towards Joy.

_"...just me?" _Tails Doll blinked, before tilting his head. _"...what about you?"_

"...I... I'll catch up with you." Metal murmured. "I need to make sure... that no one's snooping around here..."

Joy trembled a bit, and held to Metal; while she was out, it was almost as if she heard him. "...relax..." Metal uttered, as he held Joy for a while. "...no one's going to hurt you... I promise..." Then, he walked over to the wagon, and carefully placed Joy down next to Jill. "...now, Tails Doll... go."

_"...just hurry back, Big Bro..."_ Tails Doll uttered, grabbing the wagon and pulling it slowly towards the shop.

Watching them leave, Metal managed a smile while he propped himself up against a tree, clutching the stab wound Kiri had inflicted on him. "...kkh... sorry, but..." he murmured once they were out of earshot. "...this is... my... limit..." Then, as his eyes rolled back into his skull, he collapsed; his body simply unable to remain conscious after what he had gone through this day.

However, before anyone could spot him, something slithered onto his body, and pulled him into the jungle...

* * *

Nighttime fell on the island, though it was far from a peaceful evening. So much had happened today that it still dragged on throughout the night, and everyone was restless.

Upstairs in Jill's room, the very ewe herself could feel the soft surface of a bed, and wondered where she was and why she wasn't in the shack. Then she heard small sniffles at her side, which brought her to open her eyes. Sitting there, with her back to Jill, was Joy was rocking back and forth in a fetal position. Her face was flushed from all the non-stop crying she did, and it almost looked like she wasn't quite done yet.

It shattered Jill to see Joy like this. She couldn't remember a thing that happened, but seeing that she and Joy were safe in her bedroom, it was a good thing. "...Joy."

Joy spun around. "Mama!" and threw her arms around her mother, breaking down again in her shoulder, while Jill held her.

_"...you're awake..."_ At that point, Tails Doll fluttered into the room carrying a tray with two cups filled with hot cocoa, which he placed on the night stand by the bed. _"...that's a relief."_

"...Tails Doll..." Jill looked at the doll in wondering, while she stroked Joy's head to calm her down. "...what happened?"

_"...I wish I really knew."_ Tails Doll sighed, as he perched himself down on the bed. _"After I sprayed Kiri, you suddenly went all dark and stuff, and you plastered me and Diablo against a wall... and then, you did the same to Big Bro... but it wasn't you who did it..." _Then, he shuddered. _"...it was Deity."_

Jill was suddenly shocked and horrified again. How did Deity Novagod possess HER? Wasn't he sealed away within Metal? How could-and it came to her. He could have channeled himself through when they kissed.

Or when they...

She shook that out of her thoughts, finding it the utmost disturbing.

Her head sure felt heavy, and when Jill started rocking Joy in her lap, her head was yanked. "?" and when she looked, she gawked at how long her hair was. "...when did this happen?"

_"...well..." _Tails Doll uttered, as he tapped his arms together. _"...all of a sudden, Joy tried fighting Deity off... but she couldn't... so then, Callous tried fighting off Deity, and she did something to Diablo; making some kinda goo cover him... and it made your hair grow, and these markings came on your arms, and you got so pale... but after that, Big Bro got us out of there..."_

"...you put Deity in Diabwo..." Jill was surprised that Joy had said that, but also so upset that Joy knew that name. Not to mention hearing that her 3 year old daughter battled a demonic vampire...and lived to tell the tale.

Looking at herself now, Jill didn't see any markings, or indication of paleness. Only the hair remained from what happened to it.

"...Metal..." Jill uttered. "Where is he?"

_"...he..."_ Tails Doll uttered, as he glanced out the window. _"...said that he was going to keep an eye out for intruders... but he hasn't come back yet..."_

"...Mama..." Joy wiped her eyes. "...is Metoh really a robot made by Eggyman?"

Jill eyes shot to Joy's sad ones, and arched her brows. What have they done to her? How could Diablo and Kiri be so cruel to tell a 3 year old that? It only made Jill feel even more guilty about the whole thing, and she worried more about how Metal and Joy took it. There had been enough tragedy and trauma for one day...

She tried to figure out what to say, while stroking her hair again. "...he's not really a robot anymore, Joy," she finally admitted.

"...is he still bad?"

"Of course not, Joy," Jill assured. "He's good."

Joy eyes averted away from Jill's. "...really?"

"...he used to be bad, Joy, I won't lie," Jill started. "...but Metal changed a long time ago."

Tails Doll remained silent, merely watching the two of them.

"...what made him change?" Joy asked.

Jill looked up at the ceiling. "...I guess there were a lot of things that had to do with it..." she murmured. "...but to be honest, I think it was me."

Joy looked up at her mother wonderingly. She, changed a bad robot, good?

"We used to fight," Jill started again. "But later on, I started to see that Metal wasn't bad on the inside; he just didn't know what to do other than what Eggman made him for. I wanted to show him that there were better things for him, and that he didn't have to be bad. At first, he thought it was a little silly, but Metal started being less bad when we spent time together." Jill looked back down at Joy again. "We became good friends because of it."

Joy was amazed to hear this from Jill, and wiped away more of her tears. Hearing what Jill had to say started to make things a little better. Seeing her like that, Tails Doll also felt a little better as well, as he waited to hear the rest.

"...my powers..." Joy had seen the tournament, so she would surely know. "...like in a fairytale, it turned the robot into a human."

"Wow..."

"...then there was a little while that Metal and I...didn't see each other," Jill murmured.

"...how come?" Joy asked.

"...well, a lot of things happened, and he didn't want me to get hurt," Jill replied. "So...we didn't see each other for 5 whole years. You were born in the middle of those 5 years."

"...and then Metoh comed back," Joy finished.

Jill smiled. "...yeah, he came back," she said. "And then he met you, and I think he wanted to stay because of me and you." She rubbed Joy's head. "In fact...I think he was even willing to be your Daddy." Hearing that, Tails Doll would have smiled, if he had a mouth.

Joy looked up pretty hopefully at Jill. Those words meant the world to her, and getting a smile out of that child made all the hardship of today worth it for Jill. "He loves you Joy," Jill said. "Don't let anyone else tell you otherwise." All the little ewe could do was hug her mother. Jill hugged her back.

While it wouldn't undo the damage done, it was just a small part of Joy that matured that moment. And Jill was very proud of her.

Nodding, Tails Doll fluttered over to the cups. "...um... maybe you two would like some cocoa? I made some while you were sleeping, Jill..."

Joy pulled away from Jill to take a cup, and Jill took the other one. "Thanks."

"...Mama, should we look for...um, Daddy?" That was still fairly new to Joy, but she wanted to call him that after all.

Jill looked out the window. With Diablo on the loose now with Deity, it was only a matter of time before things went drastically downhill for the entire island. After the whole jungle fire incident, there would be no rest for the pour souls out there. "...let's wait a bit," Jill answered. She wanted just this moment of peace, for her and Joy and Tails Doll, just before they'd plunge themselves into the mess that broke out.

While Metal's condition worried her, she knew that perhaps Sage, or Miser, or King would find him and help him...

* * *

The feeling of slamming against a cold, damp stone floor brought Metal back from the brink of unconsciousness, as he groaned in pain. "...there we go. Rest up, and I'll be back in a bit." he could hear a female voice say coldly, before she left, closing what sounded like cell doors behind her.

Gritting his teeth, Metal managed to roll on his back, taking a few breaths to calm himself. _...where... am I? _he thought, as he glanced to his side... when he spotted a large figure he hadn't seen in quite a while, chained against the wall. "...Raider?"

Raider looked very frenzied, untidy, and out of his mind. He was so skinny his rips could be seen, which emphasized how he must not have been taken care of. "L-listen, y-you gotta g-get out of here while you still c-can!" he uttered, when he saw that Metal was awake. "S-she'll do horrible things to ya!"

"...what are you talking about...?" Metal uttered, as he slowly got in a sitting position, looking at the ox. However, not even the pain he felt could make him forget what Raider had done. "...so... this is where you ended up... after what you did to Jill..." he growled, before clutching his wound.

"...d-did what to who?" Raider uttered. "Look, all I remember is being in this god forsaken place! I don't remember this "Julie" or whatever her name is!"

Metal blinked, as he could only look at the ox in disbelief. "...you... don't remember?" he uttered. "...did you suffer amnesia?"

"I don't know!" Raider insisted. "But if anything, that raven chick did something to me! Oh, it was horrible!" He shut his eyes and shuddered while he tried to remove the image from his head.

"...raven..." Metal uttered, as he held his head. _...Sage..._

"Simply marvelous, isn't it?" Hearing that voice, Metal turned his head towards some cell doors, where he could see an octopus holding a pipe between her fingers, with a sultry smile on her lips. "Who could have imagined someone as high and mighty as Raider, fall to such a level? Mmmh... now he's nothing but my toy."

"...Hex..." Metal uttered, merely looking at the octopus.

Raider let out a yelp at the sight of her and shut his eyes again, imagining himself somewhere else other than here. "Isn't he a treat?" Hex chuckled, taking a drag from her pipe. "He was a gift from Sage to me, in exchange for trying to locate the monster who made a number on the island a week ago." Then, she shrugged. "But we haven't found a trace of it, and frankly, I could care less about it at this point."

"...so Sage gave him to you..." Metal murmured, glancing towards Raider. "...I can't say that I pity him for that."

"Regardless..." Hex chuckled, as she folded her arms. "...from now on, you two are going to be quite close. I had hoped to take you to my quarters, Metal... but I find it more fitting that I take revenge on Jill by abusing her man in such quarters." Then, she clapped her hands together. "Koopman!"

The Siamese cat then showed up obediently at her side. "I need to prepare for tonight's entertainment." Hex said, as she began heading off. "Make sure that both of them are properly stimulated until I return."

Metal could only blink, as he managed to crawl towards the wall, leaning against it.

Koopman took a look at Raider and figured there was no need, but he looked over at Metal curiously. Gritting his teeth, Metal glanced away from the cat. Shrugging, Koopman opened up the cell and entered inside, approaching Metal.

"...why do you take orders from her?" Metal spat, trying to inch away from the cat.

"Because she can easily break my neck if I don't, much like many other soldiers on this island," Koopman answered dryly. "I like my neck intact, if you don't mind."

"...survival instinct, huh..." Metal murmured. "...right... well, I do have to thank you."

At that point, something slammed into the back of Koopman's head, with the intent of knocking him out. Koopman collapsed right onto the ground, successfully unconscious.

Raider looked at this in shock, having watched Metal use one of his tendrils to do the job. "...you kept the cell door open." Chuckling, Metal slowly got to his feet, albeit weakly. "...now... I need to get out of here..." Then, he looked at Raider. "...what about you? Do you want to stay here?"

Raider quickly shook his head. "Please, let me out of here!"

Gritting his teeth, Metal looked away. "...you know, for what you did to Jill... I have every right to leave you here..."

At that point, a pair of tendrils suddenly shot from Metal, grabbing hold of the chains keeping Raider trapped, before ripping them out of the wall. "...but you've suffered enough here." Then, Metal grabbed Raider, helping him on his feet, before leading him out of the cell. "So let's get out of here."

Raider swallowed and nodded silently. He still wondered why he kept talking about something he did to someone, but he was just thankful to get out of here.

Carrying Raider through the halls of this place was a challenge in and out of itself, especially considering the state his body was in. However, Metal persevered, trying to locate just where the exit of this place was. _...I need to... get back to Jill and Joy... _he thought, which was really the only thought keeping him from fainting.

When the two of them were about to round a corner, however, they stumbled across a character they certainly didn't want to see; Hex. "...what are you two doing out of your cell?" she yelled, glaring at the two of them.

Gritting his teeth, Metal quickly sent a tendril slamming into the octopus, which sent her crashing into a wall, before he rushed away, making sure that Raider was in tow with him.

"Gnh..." With a scowl, Hex glared after Metal and Raider, running after them. "You won't escape me that easily!"

Raider's fear of her instilled adrenaline into him, and he actually began carrying Metal in return as he ran frantically away from Hex.

This certainly surprised Metal, but he didn't let it cloud his sense of judgment, as he began trying to repel Hex with use of his nanotechnology, with varying levels of success; not that he didn't hit her, but she just wouldn't stop coming after them. "Stop trying to resist!"

"Kkh..." Metal growled, as he glanced at Raider. "Do you know where the exit is?"

"I'm trying to look for it!" Raider replied panicking.

Glancing behind him, Metal saw that Hex was still trying to catch up with them. "...she's persistent..." he growled, before looking ahead of them, seeing that they were approaching a fork in the road. "...tsch... go left!"

Raider obeyed, trying to pick up his pace to lose Hex. It was a lucky break that they chose that path; as it turned out, there was a doorway at the end of this hall. "...yes! Freedom's close-by!" Metal said... until he noticed someone standing in front of the door. "...hn?"

"...goin' somwea?" Kiri uttered with a giggling sob, as she was blocking their path to the door, with her arms outstretched. "I wun letchoo!"

Seeing what had happened to the owl, Metal's eyes widened. "...Kiri?"

Raider stopped, petrified with absolute fear at the sight of Kiri. "Oh my god!"

"Kkh..." Gritting his teeth, Metal clenched his hands at the sight of her. "...what... happened?"

"Now I got you!" All of a sudden, Hex rounded the corner, ready to grab Metal and Raider. "You two are going to-"

Before she could do that, however, Metal swung a tendril right at the octopus, slamming her into a wall, and knocking her out. "We don't have time for you, right now!" he growled.

"...you..." Kiri uttered, as she looked at Metal. "...youwe the pwushi's big bwoddew..." As she spoke, she began tilting her head, whilst approaching the two of them. "...he made evvywun wanna kill meh..."

"...she's insane..." Metal muttered. "...Raider. We need to get past her, somehow..."

"...H-h-h-how?" Raider uttered, stepping away from her.

"...just charge past her!" Metal said, not taking his eyes off her. "I mean, you're an ox, and she's a little girl! I think you can outrun her!"

"b-but, but, but, but..." Raider tried to really weigh his choices. Looking back at Hex with a terrified look, he realized that he was more willing to charge through that creepy little girl to freedom. So he turned back around with a snort, and ran at Kiri. At first, it seemed like Raider would be able to simply run past Kiri with little problem...

However, the little owl suddenly managed to grab hold of Raider's leg, and force him to fall to the ground, her blades digging into his leg. "I dun wantchoo to wun!" she said.

"Kkh... Raider!" Metal called, as he glanced at the ox. "We're almost out! Try shaking her off!"

Raider let out a pained scream. "I-I can't! Her blades are-" and screamed again at the unbearable pain.

He finally pushed Metal past them. "Go on without me!"

Looking back at Raider, Metal gritted his teeth. "...kkh... sorry..." he muttered, before he began limping towards the doors.

"No, no, no, dun go!" Kiri yelled, as she raised one of her hands, black goo dripping from the fingered blades. "I dun wanna see you live!" she added, before she stabbed those blades into Raider's back, spreading the goo across him.

"Guh..." As she came to, Hex held her head, before she looked towards where the others were... and what she saw was even enough to shock her. "What the hell?"

Radier let out a scream like nothing before. This pain couldn't compare to the torture that Hex put him through. As the goo spread across him, he screamed even more.

Hearing the scream, Metal glanced back at Raider again, seeing that the goo almost completely encompassed him. Gritting his teeth, he looked away, before managing to get outside.

"...what... the hell?" Hex repeated once more, as she got to her feet. "And here I thought that monster was something else..."

"...monstow?" Kiri uttered, as she retracted the blades from Raider once he was fully covered in goo, before she looked at Hex. "...you meen de big, scawy monstow?"

Kiri honestly creeped Hex out, but before she could comment on that, her gaze fell towards the goo. "...what did you do to him?"

"...he's gon' get Cowupshon in him!" Kiri giggled, before she began skipping after Metal. "I've gotsa teww Big Bwoddew 'bout the monstow!"

"Wha- wait!" Hex called, as she watched Kiri leave.

While the goo just sat there, Raider thought of something...

There...was something worse than Hex. This...power.

Therefore...there was no need to be afraid of her anymore. That was when he grew less afraid...he started to feel like a new person.

Maybe even not necessarily a new person at that. Just someone else...someone he hadn't been in a long, long time.

Standing up, he finally turned to Hex. He was no longer malnourished and scrappy. His muscles built up like they were on steroids, and he was taller; no, he was bigger. Where his eyes should have been, it was just smoking black energy, yet he could see just fine.

And eventually, he looked at Hex with an evil smirk. Seeing that, Hex stopped, her eyes growing wide. "...Raider?" she uttered. "...how... in the world... did that happen to you?"

"...don't know," he replied with a chuckle, walking toward her. But that didn't matter. Now was the time...for payback.

"...gnh..." Gritting her teeth, Hex began stepping away from Raider. This new life fed into him... it intimidated even her, who had done so many depraving things to the ox for the past week. "...s-step down, toy!" she barked, trying to instill some sense of control. "I'm warning you; you're stepping out of line!"

"I don't listen to you anymore," Raider laughed at her. Finally he had gotten close enough that he didn't just grab her; he _picked her up_. Then slammed her into the wall, pinning her down.

"GUH!" Hex coughed; that had knocked the air out of her. "...you..." she growled. "...how dare you treat me like this? Now you'll pay!" Instantly, a pair of her tentacles wrapped around Raider's neck, before twisting it so that his neck would be snapped.

Raider just smirked at her. No amount of twisting his neck did anything to him, and he just laughed again. In fact, his neck felt like rock to Hex. "You know, I could do that too."

From out of his back, came tentacles of black energy, and a majority of them went to pin Hex down, so it could free his hands to wander. So he stroked the tentacle choking him. "What's the matter? I'd think you'd enjoy it."

"Kkh..." Hex groaned; no matter how much of a lustful person she was, even to her, this felt too wrong. "...n-no..." she coughed, desperately trying to use her own tentacles to remove the ones pinning her down. "...please... don't do this!" She couldn't believe what she was saying, especially with so much fear in her voice. This wasn't like her at all! "I'm begging you... let me go!"

Raider only chuckled, and slowly lifted Hex's dress. "What do you say? Right here?"

"...no..." Hex uttered, clawing at the wall, as if she believed that she could escape by doing that. When she found that it didn't work, she grew even more desperate to escape. "...no!" She could feel beads of sweat trickle down her body in absolute fear, wanting Raider to simply vanish. "NOOOOOO!"

The moment he managed to get out, Metal heard Hex cry loudly in pain from within the manor. Looking back, he grit his teeth. "...Kiri must've gotten to her, too..." he murmured, before he stumbled away from the manor, clutching his wound. "...I... got to get back... to Jill..."

"Well now...where do you think you're going, Metal Sonic?"

A figure walked out from hiding, standing in Metal's way. It was Diablo.

Looking towards him, Metal's eyes widened. "...you..." he uttered, surprised beyond belief at Diablo's new appearance. "...what... happened to you...?"

"Big Bwoddew!" At that point, Kiri stumbled out from the manor, a look of glee on her tear-filled face. "Awe youse gon' gettim?"

"Yes," Diablo answered. "I intend to make sure that he's finished for good, after all..." and he opened his hand with Corruption to collect over his palm, ready to throw it at the hedgehog. Metal clenched his teeth. In his current condition, and with the circumstances like this... it seemed like he was truly a goner this time...

...until one could hear someone cock a shotgun. "Sorry... but I'd rather you didn't do anything like that."

In that instant, said shotgun was fired point-blank into Diablo's back, sending him flying right past Metal, and crashing onto the ground forcibly.

Metal could only blink, as he looked at the gunman in surprise. "...you...?"

"Glad to see that you're still in one piece." the gunman nodded, as he unloaded the spent shotgun shells. "Now let's get you out of here." Lock the Sniper uttered.

Someone grabbed Metal, and appeared out of invisibility from thin air. Thankfully, it was Cal. "Hold tight," he warned, while jetpack thrusters popped out of his back and started charging up.

Diablo was a splattered mess on the ground, and by the time he put himself back together, he witnessed Cal take off into the air with Metal.

"NO!" Kiri yelled, as she watched the two fly off. "Dey're gettin' away, Big Bwoddew!"

"...so, Corruption got hold of you." Lock muttered, as he quickly hid the shotgun within his cloak, before pulling out two revolvers. "I know I can't beat someone with that power... so I won't risk my life on that again." Quickly, he fired explosive bullets from his revolvers, right at the leopard and owl, which caused both of them to explode into black goo once they struck their target. Taking this moment, Lock ran off into the jungle.

Once she reformed, Kiri held her head, sobbing and giggling a bit. "...dey gots away..."

"...so they have," Diablo responded once he was back together again. "Don't worry Kiri. We will have another opportunity to get them..."

"...yea..." Kiri nodded. "...Big Bwoddew... I gots an idea..." she uttered, looking up at Diablo.

"What is it?" he asked curiously, dusting himself off.

"...aftew I cowwupted Waidew... Hex talked 'bout de monstow... we could cowwupt de monstow too, Big Bwoddew!" Kiri said.

"The monster..." Diablo's eyes were suddenly drawn to the tall mountain then. "...Charon..." he growled lowly, with hate dripping from him tone. "...yes, that sounds like a good idea, Kiri." He didn't know why he was looking at the mountain, because he never really knew where Charon disappeared to after the incident with the explosions on the island.

...it was just a feeling.

"...you can go an' cowwupt de monstow, Big Bwoddew..." Kiri said, before she looked back at the manor. "...an' I can takes Waidew an' Hex wid me, an' cowwupt mowe peoples!"

"Sounds like a plan," Diablo said, turning around and walking away. "You go do that then."

"Awight!" Kiri said, waving at Diablo. "Go get 'im, Big Bwoddew!"

* * *

"With the whole jungle fire going on, I just hope everyone's okay," Ani muttered, staring out the window in one of the rooms of the ship. More so, this was Striker's cabin, and the bear himself was lying in his bed resting a little bit, with most of his crew around him, except Jack of course, as well as Tails.

"...aye... I be hopin' for the best..." Whisker murmured, as he sat by the wall next to Striker's bed, his arms folded.

Tails, on the other hand, was silent, keeping his eyes closed.

"Man...I really wish I knew where Jack was," Ani muttered, sitting back down again.

Hearing that, Milo glanced at Ani, and then down to the floor again. Should he tell them?

"...I be hopin' that he didn'a get 'imself in trouble..." Whisker sighed.

Milo sighed out loud, loud enough that it caught everyone's attention. "I can't take it anymore," he muttered. "...I know what he's doing."

Striker awoke hearing that. "...what? You know what who's doing now?" he murmured.

"Jack," Milo clarified. "I know what he's doing..."

"...do you, now?" Tails hummed, glancing at Milo. "What is he doing, then?"

Milo rubbed his brows. "He's playing with a monster."

"SAY WHAT?" screamed the majority in the room. Striker was so surprised he slipped off his bed, and Ani had to come help him up because he was still in bad shape after the tournament.

"He's been hanging out with the same monster that everyone's been talking about around the island," Milo murmured.

"Ye mean that monster that supposedly did a lot o' damage to the island?" Whisker sputtered.

"...well, now... that's certainly curious." Tails hummed; him being the only one remaining level-headed about this. "...well, I think we can all assume that if he's playing with this monster... then the monster cannot be as bad as everyone makes it out to be."

Milo remembered Johnny saying the same thing. "My thoughts exactly," Milo said. "In fact, because of all the trouble they caused, Jack pinky-sweared with the monster that he wouldn't tell anybody about it."

Ani set her hands on her hips in suspicion. "Then how do you know?"

"...a little birdy told me," Milo replied vaguely. "...or in this case, a ghost."

"...a ghost?" Whisker uttered. "Just which ghost could've figured that out?"

"That doesn't really matter," Milo said, disregarding that question. "What matters is, that I have a feeling this jungle fire is only the beginning of a lot of problems...and we gotta find Jack before things really go downhill."

"But where could he be, Milo?" Ani asked. "What if Jack's 'exploration' was really half the truth? Then he could be anywhere on the island with that creature..."

"...hm..." Tails hummed, as he glanced out of the window with a thoughtful look. Just then, Tails saw something perch on the window.

Before he could say anything, Milo noticed it and beat him to it. "Hey..."

It was that familiar white, frosty butterfly.

"...hn? A butterfly..." Whisker uttered, as he tilted his head.

"...now where did you come from?" Tails hummed, as he slowly walked towards the window, so he wouldn't scare the butterfly off.

The butterfly was actually beating against the window lightly, and kept doing so for a few minutes until Milo finally got the impression that it wanted to be let in.

"...Professor, open the window," he said, watching it oddly. Nodding, Tails obliged, opening the window. The butterfly swooped in and spun circles around the room, with everyone eying it with more curiously and puzzlement.

Then the butterfly placed itself on Milo's nose. First time, he sneezed since it tickled, and the butterfly fluttered irritably until it could sit on Milo's nose again without tickling him. This only made Milo even more curious, but then while staring at this butterfly, Milo's senses arose.

For a split second, he saw not a butterfly...but a girl.

"If you wish to find your friend, follow me."

Then the butterfly plucked off his nose and headed right back out the window.

"...guys, we have to follow that butterfly," Milo uttered, jumping to his feet and running out of the room.

"Wha- AYE, WAIT UP!" Whisker called, as he got on his feet. "Shiver me timbers, where be he goin'?"

"...whatever it is, we should do as he says." Tails nodded, before he looked at Striker, Ani and Whisker. "...do you think you can follow him?"

"Sure, but..." Whisker uttered, glancing at Tails. "...what about ye?"

"Me? I don't think I'd be able to catch up to you, if you all started running..." Tails chuckled. "...besides... I'm a little worried about Jill, Joy and Metal. I'd like to see if I could check up on them..."

Striker started to stand up. "Where's Snap?"

Ani was going to answer, "On the deck, but-" she was cut off when the door opened, and the same robot walked in.

_"Where's Milo going?"_ Snap asked.

"He's following a butterfly..." Ani moaned, running out the door past a confused Snap.

"...you should all follow them." Tails suggested.

"Like ye even need t' tell us!" Whisker called, as he ran out of the room as well.

Striker struggled enough that Snap had to come help him. "Make sure you don't get into trouble, Professor," Striker bit while the two of them left the room also.

Tails nodded, before he glanced out of the window, where he could see the gang running off into the jungle. "...be safe, now..." he murmured, before he turned and walked out of the room.

* * *

After a good deal of running, Lock eventually reached the malt shop in town. Skidding to a halt, he began catching his breath. "...seems like they didn't follow me..." he muttered, before he folded his arms. "...still... they're using Corruption..." he mused to himself. "...fighting them is going to be tricky..."

From the sky, Cal descended carefully down next to Lock, holding Metal securely when the monkey was on his feet. "You said that Jill and Joy were here, Metal?" Cal asked.

"...they... should be." Metal nodded, wincing a bit.

"...just relax, Metal." Lock said, as he helped Cal lead the hedgehog towards the shop. "Straining yourself could prove dangerous, in your state."

Meanwhile, upstairs, Joy had fallen fast asleep on Joy's lap. However exhausted Jill was, she didn't sleep. She sat there lost in thought, waiting, hoping that Metal would come back. She hadn't worried so much in a long time... but for all this hardship to finally be coming back, like the reprise of Deity Novagod...

Then she heard noise outside her bedroom door.

"...Tails Doll?" When she got no response, she cautiously set aside Joy so not to wake her, and climbed off the bed toward her door.

Once she opened the door, she found three characters standing there; Lock, Cal and Metal, the latter being carried by the former two. "...sorry to intrude this late at night." the bounty hunter said.

Jill was so surprised to see them that it took a minute for her to react. "...oh, n-not at all!" Her, Cal and Lock pulled Metal over to her bed and laid him down next to the sleeping Joy.

Cal, stared at Jill long hair in bewilderment. "...uh...did you get hair extensions?"

"...it's...a long story," Jill replied, who looked more concerned about Metal at the moment, sitting next to him.

"...we found him by Hex's manor." Lock murmured. "Cal was lucky enough to spot the octopus dragging him through the woods to her manor. He informed me, and we got there just in time to stop Diablo from killing him."

Jill didn't look to happy hearing about that, scowling. She remembered what the octopus said to her at the tournament... but hearing Diablo tried to kill him as well, it just made Jill feel even more guilty. "...This is bad, very bad..." she muttered.

"...Jill, are you already aware that Diablo and Kiri can use Corruption now?" Cal asked, drawing Jill's eyes to him.

"...Not Kiri, exactly..." Jill murmured uneasily, looking back down at Metal again. "...but I knew about Diablo." After awhile, she sighed. "...guys, Deity Novagod is possessing Diablo."

Cal jumped. "What?"

"...he's what?" Lock asked in a bemused tone. "...strange... I thought he was sealed within Metal."

"...he was..." Jill murmured.

"But how did he get out?" Cal asked.

"...well, from what Tails Doll told me since I don't remember much...he somehow got inside me, and took advantage of my stress to possess me..." Jill explained. "...then I channeled him out into Diablo in order to get him out of me..."

"...but still, how did he get out of-" Cal stopped when he saw how embarrassed Jill looked, and after awhile of thinking about it, he got his answer. "...oh..."

"...well, that aside..." Lock began, noting Jill's embarrassment. "...right now, we have a huge problem on our hands. And the only ones who are capable of repelling it are you and Metal..."

"...the first thing I have to do is make sure that they don't leave the island," Jill said. "If they get out into the world, it will be nearly impossible to stop them if they start infecting everyone with Corruption."

"...how're you going to do that?" Cal asked, getting a glance from Jill.

"I'm going to put a barrier around the entire island that will keep anyone in possession of Corruption from leaving the island."

Cal's eyes widened, wondering if Jill could really do that.

"...then, the only problem remaining is to find a way to destroy that threat, once it's been contained..." Lock murmured, before he snapped his fingers. "...and I think I have an idea." At that point, he reached into his coat, before pulling out a cartridge of sorts, with a black gauge on it. "Jill... I want you to channel Unity into this." he said, handing the cartridge to Jill.

Jill took the cartridge and concentrated with closed eyes. Soon, visible trails of sparkling dark green energy seeped into it. Seeing this, Lock nodded. "...good... it seems my hypothesis was correct." he mused.

"Do you think it'll really have any effect against them?" Cal asked, once Jill finished and handed Lock back the cartridge.

"Hopefully, it should." Lock said, as he held the cartridge up for the two to see, letting them see the full gauge. "This cartridge, you see, is one of several I use as ammo for my rifle. Normally, the cartridges are solar-powered, but judging from the reaction I got from this, any form of energy should work."

"One blast into any them, and it should have a massive effect," Jill replied with a nod. "...the only one that may be the exception to the rule is Deity, because no one really knows how powerful he is." With one last glance at Metal, she stood up from the bed. "If you excuse me, I'll be right back," she said, leaving out the door.

With a nod, Lock hid the cartridge within his cloak, before he took a seat. "...we should consider warning King and his troupe about this. If any of them are overtaken by Corruption..."

Cal nodded. "...you stay here until Jill gets back. I need to warn my teammates about all this." The moment he turned invisible, Lock could tell Cal's very presence was gone from the room.

Moments later, he also saw Jill standing in the road in front of her shop, bringing out her wings and taking off toward the sky. Lock hummed, before he glanced towards Metal, who stirred. "...kkh..." he groaned.

Lock simply looked at the hedgehog, before he let out a sigh. "...I suppose that you want to help out?"

"...Deity is..." Metal coughed. "...my responsibility... but I couldn't stop him... if only I had more power..."

"...don't beat yourself up over it." Lock muttered, before he closed his eyes. "We'll make sure to put an end to this."

Outside, Jill kept flying higher, and higher, and higher, until all of the island was in her view. By then, some soldiers on the island started to notice the dot in the sky with curiosity and wonder. Among some of these soldiers were Hunter and Queen.

"What's that?" Hunter asked; being only half-blind, he wasn't so good with his sight. Perhaps Queen had better luck.

"...that's..." Queen uttered, squinting a bit. "...no way... is that Jill?"

"What did you say?" Hunter uttered in disbelief.

Jill knew this was going to be tough, and immense concentration would be required. So she closed her eyes with an open mouth.

And she sang.

She didn't mean for it, but her voice echoed through the air and filled the entire island, which called the attention of even more soliders on the island, wondering what that sound was. So much activity on the island stopped just to listen to what it was. It was more amazing to hear the singing voice splitting into more parts as well, but all the more baffling.

Running through the jungle after the butterfly, Whisker briefly stopped as he looked upwards. "...what in blazes be that voice?" he uttered in a puzzled tone.

"...that sounds like..." Milo's eyes widened to think it. "Jill."

"That's Jill?" Ani uttered.

Two characters stopped moving through the jungle, both of them looking towards the sky. "...who in the world is singing?" Spiel uttered, tilting his head.

"...it couldn't be... her?" Krieg uttered, as he tilted his head as well.

Elsewhere, standing in the ruined Battle Arena to repair the damages done there, Sage looked upwards at the sky. "...it seems as though we're in a lot of trouble, huh?" she sighed. "...luck be with you, Jill."

Within her crossed arms, Jill was building up the most Unity she could so she could do this, and she kept singing to keep her focused.

With Teams Chaotix and Alpha, they were also drawn to the singing. "Is it that thing in the sky that's singing?" Boomer asked.

"...it must be." Natal uttered, folding her arms.

"...but who could it be, y'know?" Newt uttered. "It sounds otherworldly..."

"...there's not many with that kind of voice..." Wiper murmured. _...it has to be Jill..._ he thought.

On the outskirts of the village, several soldiers were gathering to look up at the sky, with Ripper and Miser among them. "...kekekeke... who is that?" Ripper uttered.

"...I think..." Miser uttered, as she tilted her head. "...it could be Jill."

"...Flammy, Flammy!" In a small hut by the docks, Lin shook Flamenco to wake him up. "Are you hearin' this?"

"Hm?" The moment Flamenco's eyes fluttered open, he suddenly heard that voice. "Aye yaye yaye!" He jumped to his feet, looking around when his eyes found the dot in the sky. "It comes from there! _El cantan de los angeles!"_

With enough energy built into her arms, Jill shot them up. A powerful force of Unity burst, and a clear green surface extended out from her arms across the sky.

"What's she doing?" Striker uttered in amazement.

"...she putting up a barrier," Milo responded. "...just as I thought; this was only the beginning of our problems."

"...kkh..." Whisker growled. "...we better find Jack, an' fast!"

Skipping through the woods, Kiri suddenly came to an absolute halt when she saw that green surface across the sky. "...dat's... bad..." she uttered.

"...it has to be Jill; no question about it." Krieg uttered, as he folded his arms.

"...and she's forming some form of shield around Safe Haven..." Spiel murmured, before chuckling. "How convenient. Now, we're safe from any attacks until the operation goes as planned."

Another who watched that green clear surface spread across the sky was Diablo. He had stopped once he heard the singing, and knew immediately what was going on. "...so, the battle is on, Jillian," he mused.

"...Twilight...what's going on?" Tasha uttered in awe, also seeing this.

"...I... have no idea..." King uttered, as he tilted his head. "...but I have a feeling that Sage knows. We should rendezvous with her as soon as we can."

Up on the mountain, Charon had fallen asleep, rendering him pretty much the only one on the entire island who failed to hear and see what was going on as Oblivion and Jack looked up at this in awe. "...man... is that really Jill?" Jack uttered.

"...It may be," Oblivion muttered. "...but I never realized someone could have such a voice...or such power."

The clear green surface dove down, and started to make it's way toward the very edges of the island.

Flamenco, seeing it coming his and Lin's way, quickly grabbed the spider and moved away from it uneasily. "Ooh... it's pretty..." Lin uttered; obviously, she wasn't as concerned as Flamenco was.

Trotting through the jungle on his own, Tails had only glanced up to see the barrier once, as he kept heading towards Jill's home. _...what chaos is brewing, for you to do something like this, Jill? _he thought.

Luckily, it barely grazed the edge of the dock in the harbor, leaving even the pirate ship untouched within it's confines. Flamenco was relieved; it was so high up and so big that it really was hard to tell whether or not it was going to cut off bits of the island. That went the same for many other soldiers who happened to be on the island's edge when the barrier reached the edges, and plunged into the waters below.

More energy started flowing and pulsing through the green surface, because Jill wanted to make sure the barrier would be strong enough to withstand even Deity's strongest attacks. So she sang just a little bit longer to help her do this.

"...Jill..." Sonia uttered, as she stood together with several soldiers and jungle cats; the latter being taken care of by the soldiers after their village burned down. "...that's you... isn't it?"

Finally, it was done. The barrier was strong enough, and Jill was too weak anyway to put anymore into it. Once she finished singing, somehow with more voices than her own, her hands fell first, and then the rest of her started to fall down through the sky...

...she would have crashed into the ground too, but a last minute strength caught her right above the ground in flight, and she grounded on her feet right in front of her shop again. But she had a time walking toward the front door; she stumbled and grabbed its side, keeping herself standing.

Putting up a barrier that big, that strong...it took so much out of her.

As if on cue, the door opened for her thanks to Lock, who gave her a nod. "...great work." he said. "That should keep them from escaping."

Jill nodded in thanks, and the two of them made their way up the stairs. "...just...one more thing left to do," she muttered, walking through her living room. Lock, knowing what that would be, followed her in silence.

They headed back to her room, and she went to sit by Metal's side again, sighing in disdain at his condition. Metal winced a little, as he weakly glanced towards Jill, though he remained silent. Jill put her hands on his forehead, and his chest. They both started to produce a white glow, which also started to spread to Metal himself. As she did that, Metal closed his eyes to try and relax.

Like a miracle, all of Metal's wounds were starting to shrivel away and disappear. Within, his broken bones were mending themselves back together, and even the bruises were deteriorating. Best of all, Metal's pain was slowly fading away. The only thing that didn't fade away was his fatigue; given how much he had exerted himself today, that wasn't really a surprise. Still, he let out a relieved sigh when he felt the pain subside from his body.

Jill felt even weaker when she finished, and the moment she pulled her hands away, her head hit the pillow beside Metal. "...let's rest...before...we take on..."

"...you should all rest." Lock nodded, as he actually helped Jill lie down properly in the bed. "I'll stand guard, until you two are rested."

"...thanks..." Metal uttered, as he shot Lock a glance.

"...don't mention it." Lock shrugged, as he prepared to walk out the door, but before he did that, he glanced back at the bed.

Jill slowly took Metal's hand. "...I'm glad that you and Joy are okay..." she muttered.

"...and... I'm glad that you two are safe...as well..." Metal uttered, as he slowly looked towards Jill.

With a small smile hidden underneath his cloak, Lock left the room, leaving Jill, Joy and Metal to rest on their own.

* * *

**_I'm still very basic in Spanish, so if what Flamenco said is grammatically incorrect, please let me know. I don't trust the translators as a double-checker...and I have to rely on my own judgment most of the time.  
_**


	20. Chapter 20

_**5 Years Later – Chapter Twenty...**_

"...man..." Jack uttered again, as he and Oblivion had went back into the cave, where Charon was still sleeping. At the moment, Jack leaned against the wall, on the verge of falling asleep, himself. "...I didn't know that Jill could do something like that..."

Oblivion had read about it, sure, but to see the proof before her very eyes... "...neither did I," she replied.

"...I just hope that whatever it is..." Jack murmured, as his eyelids began fluttering, ready to just fall asleep at this point. "...it's not too dangerous..."

Oblivion looked back at Jack, noticing how tired he was. Was it a good idea to let him stay here again, especially with all the chaos going on? "...I'm going to check something, Jack," she said, heading out the cave. "Be right back..."

"...mkay..." Jack murmured with a drowsy tone. "...be careful..."

Oblivion went down the trail for a little bit; at least far enough where Spiel's camp was in sight. While observing, she could see barely any activity from it. Had Spiel and his men gone to bed? Or had they just gone off on their own business? Either way, the camp looked empty.

So Oblivion turned back up the hill to return.

Then she heard bushes, and stopped in fear, looking around frantically.

Nothing...

Oblivion wasn't going to settle for nothing though. She was always very careful; she had to be with Charon.

When she turned around to head up the hill again, her face met with another, and she gasped in fright.

"Hello...Oblivion..." It was Diablo, yes, but... he was so much more different than the last time she saw him. And the vipe he was giving off was more...menacing.

Oblivion stepped away skittishly. Diablo only stepped forward. "It's been awhile."

"...Diablo..." she gasped again. "...what happened to you?" Suddenly he grabbed her, and he bit her neck. She cried out in surprise and pain, feeling the skin punctured by his sharp teeth. She would struggle, but somehow she was drastically losing the energy and will to fight it. Diablo could feel her growing weaker in his arms in satisfaction. Soon, Oblivion nearly passed out right there, almost lost of life completely from what Diablo drained out of her.

When he finally had his fill, he licked her neck clean from any blood that spilled out. "...now...Oblivion, there's something I would like you to do for me..."

Oblivion reopened her eyes, and stared blankly, lifelessly off in space. "...yes?"

Diablo hissed in her ear. "...I want you to fetch Charon for me...and when I mean fetch..." he held up a sharp prickle of black energy. "...I mean, infect him."

Oblivion took the prickle in her hand without questioning. "...Yes, Master..." she uttered, heading back up the hill again, with Diablo slowly following her just in case.

Once they reached the cave, they heard snoring from within it. Both of its inhabitants were now fast asleep.

"I will remain outside, and contact you through thoughts," Diablo whispered to her, allowing her to enter into the cave alone. "Prickle Charon...and you will have performed your duty."

"...Yes, Master..." Oblivion murmured, setting her lifeless eyes on the hybrid sleeping on the cave floor while she approached him.

The closer she came, the more she held out that prickle of darkness.

"...mhrm... 'blivion?" With a small yawn, Jack woke up, as he glanced towards Oblivion; though, in his drowsy state, he couldn't see the prickle of darkness in her grasp. "...what're you doin'...?"

Oblivion looked quickly back at Jack, not expecting him to wake.

_Well now, having a witness complicates things. Deal with him, Oblivion._

_...by what method, Master?_

_...I say, use your charms; coax him into relaxation, flatter him...maybe even seduce him. _

"...Jack...I thought you would stay asleep..." Oblivion murmured, hiding the prickle behind her back while she slowly inched her way to the lion.

Jack yawned, as he rubbed his eyes. "Yeah, but... somehow, I woke up. Maybe I'm thirsty, or something like that..."

Oblivion knelt down in front of him, and looked right at him.

_Tell him, you've always liked him..._

"...Jack...there's something I must tell you..."

Jack blinked. "...um... what is it?" he uttered, as he tilted his head. "...hey, did you get lenses, or something? Your eyes seem... different..."

"...yes, that, but..." Oblivion managed to wrap her arms around Jack's neck without him noticing the prickle. "...It's...something important I have to tell you...for you see...I like you."

"...huh?" Jack had no idea what she meant. "...well, I like you and Charon, too; you're my friends, so it's a given, right?"

"...well, I mean..._like_ like you..." One of her hands started trailing across Jack's chest smoothly and longingly, growing a bit more closer to Jack.

"...uh..." This was starting to creep Jack out quite a bit. "..._like _like me?" he uttered. "...what's that supposed to mean? And why are you touching me like that?"

"...I felt something for a long time for you, Jack," Oblivion continued to speak, ignoring his questions. "Now that Charon's asleep, I can finally show you what it is..." and Oblivion kissed him.

That came as an absolute surprise to Jack, as the kiss not only caused him to fully wake up, but also freeze for a good five seconds. Only after that, did he have the idea of pulling away, wiping his lips in disgust. "Gross!" he complained, before looking back at Oblivion. "...but... I thought you and Charon were best friends! Isn't this really mean to do to him?"

"...but we're only friends, Jack..." Oblivion muttered. "...I don't feel for him the way I feel for you..."

_Take it up a notch._

Oblivion suddenly grabbed him and pound him into the ground against his will, sitting up on top of him and stroking his chest some more.

Now, Jack was starting to panick. "...but... I've only known you for a few days! You've known Charon for years!" he said, trying to wriggle out from underneath Oblivion. "And stop it; this isn't comfortable!"

"...but I can't stop, Jack," Oblivion spoke, while her strokes starting lowering from his chest.

"...please, Oblivion; this is wrong!" Jack pleaded, still trying to get her off him.

_It's not working, Oblivion...you must use the prickle on him, instead._

_...Yes Master..._

So Oblivion raised her hand, long enough for Jack to see what was in it, just as she'd throw it down on him.

However, before it could hit him, Jack suddenly shot a hand out, grabbing Oblivion's wrist, and keeping the prickle away from him. "...didn't you hear him, you idiot?" he uttered; however, his tone seemed completely different from before. Not to mention, he was slowly crushing her wrist within his grip.

Oblivion was utterly speechless at this, and expressed nothing else; even the pain of her wrist.

"...geez... I knew there was something weird about you..." he growled, before moving her hand away from him, forcing her to drop the prickle to the ground. "...but I won't let you traumatize my nephew." At that point, in an amazing show of strength, Jack managed to take Oblivion and slam her against the wall of the cave, keeping her pinned. "That's _my_ job."

Since Oblivion was so fragile, hitting her head against the cave wall was enough to slowly dim her view, as well as slow down her functions. "...but my job...was to...infect Charon..." she uttered mindlessly. "...and you interfered..."

"...interfered, my ass." Jack snarled. "Just an FYI... don't try taking out witnesses _before_ you've done your job." Then, with another scoff, he slammed his hand against her neck, to knock her out. That did the trick, and Oblivion collapsed onto the ground in an instant.

"That tone...well...I should be surprised, but I cannot feel anything. You would understand, of course...Johnny."

A dark figure loomed in from the entrance of the cave, approaching Jack. "Not that you would sit put in the afterlife anyhow," spoke Diablo, looking at Jack with that cold stare.

Jack, or Johnny, however, didn't look towards Diablo yet, as he glanced at the prickle Oblivion had carried. "...Corruption..." he murmured, before he suddenly smashed the prickle underneath his shoe, grinding his foot across the ground to ensure that nothing remained of it. Then, he looked back at Diablo. "...man, who hit you with the ugly stick?" he scoffed.

"Hmph..." Diablo just paced around him. "...you haven't changed, Johnny. Your disposition is as surly as ever."

Johnny frowned, as he folded his arms. Just from the way Diablo spoke, he could tell that there was something different about him. "...and as always, you've got a ten-foot stick up your ass, Novagod." he scoffed. "So, how'd you get out? I thought the Toaster had you locked up within him."

"Everything was done for me, as I planned," Diablo replied. "I tricked Metal Sonic to transport me within Jill, and once she grew distressed, I took over her. However, it was decided that I be evicted from her and placed in Diablo instead..."

"I've adapted to the slightly less proper speech patterns of my host, and for the sake of that interesting child, Kiri, maybe even started to pretend to be him," Diablo continued. "But deep inside, I truly am Deity Novagod. Though I must say, that this host is much more suitable than that of Metal Sonic...or even Jillian for that matter. Too much noise in that girl's head...with Callous and all."

Johnny frowned. "...as always, you're a huge hit with the ladies." he remarked sarcastically. "So, how is Callous? I take it that she didn't wanna put up with you after a while."

"...You could say that," Diablo agreed. "I even tried to lock her up, but she was the one that shoved me into this desolate, pathetic body. I'm sure that took a lot of her power to do, though...so I'm not aware of "how she's doing" at the moment."

"...so, once again, you're getting pushed around by girls who you're about ten times older than." Johnny chuckled. "...so, I take it that you're here for Charon?" he added, as he shot a glance at the unconscious Oblivion.

"Yes, but as you can see, the girl failed to be even a servant," Diablo murmured, also looking down at Oblivion. "So the duty falls on me." He looked back at Jack. "I assume you would stand in my way? After all...you've seemed to have grown a bit soft on your nephew, Johnny...that sure is unlike you."

"...hmph." Johnny scoffed, looking back at Diablo. "...like I've said before, my only loyalty is to Callous." Then, he smirked. "...but then again, I've always hated your guts, so I'll take any excuse I can get to beat the shit out of you." After he said that, he closed his eyes. "Because if I recall correctly, the last time we properly fought, you got a taste of your own medicine, Novagod." he mused, chuckling.

"Ah, but I let you win, Johnny."

"A win's still a win." Johnny shrugged. "...now, how about we take this outside?" he said, motioning towards the mouth of the cave.

"Very well." Diablo, or really, Deity Novagod gestured out there. "Age before beauty, they say." Regardless of whether or not he let Johnny win that time, he wasn't going to turn his back on the lion.

"Hm." With a mild shrug, Johnny backed out towards the mouth of the cave, making sure not to turn his back on Deity, either.

Deity followed him, keeping his eyes warily on the lion.

Once they stepped outside, a thunderclap rung through the air, and rain began pouring down around them. In spite of this, Johnny chuckled. "Pretty fitting, wouldn't you say, Novagod?"

"Indeed," Deity replied.

"...then, I hope you won't mind if I take the first shot?" Johnny chuckled, cracking his knuckles in preparation.

"Go ahead," Deity answered, not even moving from where he stood.

Grinning, Johnny rushed right at him. "Time to send ya back to hell!" he laughed, before aiming a fierce swing of his arm at Deity's neck. Deity raised an arm, and blocked it.

"Can you do better?" He asked. "I've been locked up within that damned hedgehog for 5 years. I've been incredibly bored, you see...so entertain me." Sarcasm...did Deity just use sarcasm? Even Deity didn't know he could do that.

"...so, you're not even gonna fight back?" Johnny hummed, before grinning. "Alright; let's keep you entertained, then!" he laughed, before he began absolutely pummeling Deity where he stood, aiming several fierce blows at him. Deity surprisingly blocked each blow.

_Hm...this new host seems to be faster than my own body...it's younger, more fresh...had age really hindered me?_ Deity wondered in thought.

Johnny, however, didn't seem to care that Deity kept blocking him, as he eventually swept his leg at Deity's legs, to force him to trip. Deity fell, but he caught himself again with a flap of his wings, and used that force to kick Johnny. Johnny, however, caught hold of the incoming leg, before he began rapidly spinning around. "Heads up!" he laughed, before hurling Deity directly at the mountain wall, with incredible force. Deity flipped around and used his wings to manipulate the air, so he hit the wall on his feet.

That still didn't mean the cave didn't shake from within.

Deity shot himself right at Johnny with a hard punch.

However, Johnny caught the incoming fist with ease, even if he and Deity were sent skidding a bit, before he aimed a fierce kick right into Deity's gut. The kick hit, but Deity recovered from it pretty quickly. Then he aimed to knee Johnny in the face. That sent Johnny skidding quite a bit away, which also forced him to let go of Deity. However, when he stopped, he began laughing. "...you know, Deity... I just had an epiphany!" he said, without moving from where he stood.

"Big shocker," Deity murmured, dropping to his feet on the ground.

"Ooh, more sarcasm? I didn't think you had it in ya." Johnny chuckled. "But listen up, because I won't repeat myself. I got this all figured out now... you're not the strongest of us, and neither am I!"

"Oh?" Now Johnny went and made Deity curious...something still surprising to the vampire demon. Could he really feel these things in this new host?

"I know; quite a surprise, right?" Johnny laughed. "So, do you wanna know who the strongest one really is?" As he spoke, he placed a thumb against his own chest. "Why, none other than little Jack, of course."

Deity just glared at Johnny. "...and why do you suggest that?" he asked.

"You see, I got to thinking." Johnny chuckled. "We Leoniels have, for several generations, been known to be monsters on the battlefield; and I'm sure a lot of people can attest to that fact, after I plowed through them." Then, he folded his arms. "But Jack's different. His mother likely didn't want him to grow up to be a killing machine, so she raised him to be this little goody-goody, who's likely as pure as the driven snow." As he spoke, he shook his head. "...pure... it's strange to call someone in their early 20s that, wouldn't you agree, Novagod?"

"...right..." Deity muttered.

"...but pure or not..." Johnny chuckled, as he shrugged. "...he's still a Leoniel. Fighting's practically written in his DNA, for crying out loud." Then, he looked up at the rain-filled sky. "...I'm pretty sure that if Jack could use Purity or Unity, he could've wiped the floor with us five years ago... but he can't use either of 'em." As he spoke, he took out something, which he showed to Deity; Jack's harmonica. "...I do hope that you're familiar with this?"

"Yes?" Deity murmured.

"I still have no idea how he pulled it off, but Jack's outfitted this little thing with enough power to bring a whole crowd of people to their knees." Johnny chuckled, as he observed the harmonica. "So it just goes to show; even if he wasn't raised to be one, he's still got some of the classic Leoniel bloodlust within him." Then, he spun the instrument around in his hand. "How about a test?" Then, quickly bringing the instrument to his lips, Johnny began playing it with some manner of skill, sending massive shockwaves right at the leopard.

Deity expected this to be painful, because if he remembered, he had sensitive hearing. While jumping away from the shockwaves though, he discovered something.

He wasn't a bat anymore. While the noise still hurt his ears, it didn't jarr him like it used to.

After that, Johnny stopped playing. "So, did you like the sound of that?" he chuckled, before he began tossing the instrument up and down in his grasp. "So much power, hidden within such a little thing..."

Deity just looked at Johnny. "I admit that the boy has talent. But so do his friends...and they haven't really been able to win their battles. Jack will be nothing more."

"Oh, but Jack is different." Johnny chuckled. "He's a Leoniel, remember? Didn't you pay attention to what I was saying?" Then, he flicked the harmonica's microphone off. "Whether he was raised to be one or not... we all have a special knack for battle."

At that point, Johnny began playing the instrument again, but now, it sounded less like a harmonica, and more like a collection of instruments playing together. Also, as he played, his body began convulsing, as if something prepared to emerge from him.

Deity focused on him, waiting to see what trick he had up his sleeve.

Just then, it seemed as though a dark-red fire erupted from Johnny's back, towering above both him and Deity. Eventually, this flame began changing its shape, eventually turning into a demonic-looking, fiery lion, who wielded a massive broadsword of flames in one hand, and what seemed to be a rifle in the other. _"...the only thing needed to unlock a Leoniel's true potential... is a push in the right direction." _the flaming lion uttered wickedly; strangely enough, it carried Johnny's voice, whilst the actual lion kept playing the harmonica, as if he were possessed.

Deity tried not to look like he was impressed, even if he was just slightly. Still, he didn't really feel threatened by this; just annoyed. "So you've proven me wrong," he admitted.

_"Indeed."_ Johnny chuckled, as he began stepping towards Deity, whilst the flaming lion weighed the broadsword on his shoulder, pointing the rifle at him. _"Now, come and die!" _At that point, the rifle shot out three dark projectiles, each of them burning with the same flame as the lion, rocketing at the leopard. Deity took to flight and maneuvered around these shots, opening his hand. Dark purplish flames granted him a long, dark sword of his own.

Then he took it in both hands and aimed for the lion playing the harmonica. _Let's see how long you last if I attack the source,_ he thought.

However, the sword strike was repelled, as the flaming lion used the rifle to block the strike. _"...what?" _Johnny chuckled. _"You thought you could get to the source that easily?" _Then, with a roaring laughter, the lion swung the broadsword right at Deity.

Since it was too big to block without trouble, Deity jumped away. "Well then, I suppose this is the only time where possessing Jillian would've been more beneficial to me than this hapless amateur illusionist," he mumbled, conjuring up Corruption in his palm and shooting it at the lion entity wielding the broadsword and rifle.

Without any trouble, the lion swung his broadsword at the Corruption, cutting it to shreds. _"Heh; I could've told you that. That pussycat didn't stand a chance when I was merely possessing Jack; what makes you think that he'd fare any better against this?" _As he spoke, he fired more dark shots from the rifle at Deity.

This time, Deity actually blocked the shots with his sword.

"...but then again, Diablo never really fights back. He's the perfect puppet...unlike some who have a pesky strong will." Then he ran at Johnny. "So he won't do a thing. It's only me." He jumped into the air and raised his sword, charging it up with a lot of Corruption. "And I've still beaten you before, Johnny." Then he slashed down on him.

Quickly, the fiery lion raised the broadsword to block the strike from Deity. Once the two blades clashed, another thunderclap rang through the air. _"You keep forgetting small details, Novagod!"_ he laughed, before suddenly aiming his rifle at the leopard. _"For instance, you're not just fighting me, but Jack as well!"_ Then, he opened fire on Deity.

Deity quickly flew away to avoid the shots, remaining in the air. "All the more ridiculing when I defeat you both," he said, flying around to attack Johnny from behind.

However, without even turning back, the lion blocked the strike with the rifle, before glancing back at Deity. _"And what makes you think that you have even the faintest chance in hell of doing that?" _he roared, before slamming the broadsword down on the leopard.

Deity hopped away on ground. "I must...if I am able to go after that child without anyone stopping me," he spoke. He decided that having two swords would be helpful, so he opened his hand for the dark, purplish flames to give him one in the other hand. Then he lashed at Johnny with numerous swings.

However, the fiery lion remained on the defensive, blocking the sword strikes with his broadsword. _"So you're going after Joy, now?"_ he scoffed, as he fired several dark shots at the leopard whilst blocking his attacks_. "And here I thought that you couldn't get any more desperate. What, you want people to compare you to Prowler, of all people?"_

"You know as much as I do the power she holds," Deity talked back, unrelenting with his attacks while he avoided the rifle fire. "I won't stand the fact that she can best me at such a young age. So with her being so vulnerably young, I would take her life first." He even started throwing balls of Corruption at Johnny to increase his offensive.

With increasing agility, the lion began blocking both the sword strikes and the Corruption with the rifle he held. _"You've certainly become a petty guy, Novagod."_ he scoffed, as he began swinging the broadsword at Deity, to try and both repel his strikes, and nail a few good hits on him. _"Afraid that a little girl could defeat you? Even if she possesses enough power to make you shudder, you should really think of getting your priorities sorted out first!"_

"While it sounds absurd to you, it's sensible to me," Deity replied, once again catching up with Johnny's speed. "And for the record, I know you would do the same...in fact, you did try to do the same. You try to kill three of them as children, don't you remember?" Deity distanced away and started swinging slash-waves of Corruption at Johnny now.

To counter this, the fiery lion began swinging his broadsword to create slash-waves of the same fire covering its being, to make sure that they collided with the Corruption waves. _"There's a difference, there!" _Johnny called. _"Killing them was an order; not because they were too powerful, but because Colonel Reeds was a sadistic moron! Besides, Miser was immortal even then, so I wasn't even aiming to kill her! But really, that's irrelevant!"_

Deity halted his attack for now. "...the girl Kiri goes now and infects more and more soldiers with Corruption for me," he said. "Which makes me realize that we are really just wasting our time."

_"Hmph. You mean that _you're _wasting time."_ Johnny scoffed, as the fiery lion pointed his rifle at the leopard. _"Whoever said that I was wasting time on trying to kill you?" _Just then, he began firing more shots at Deity.

Deity simply flew around the shots again. "Realistically, you will have more problems on your hands to deal with than me." He started flying up toward the air, away from Johnny. "Besides, you will have company soon, and it would be a bit improper to leave yourself looking like that for your guests."

Looking up at Deity, Johnny frowned. _"...this isn't over, Novagod."_ he uttered, before the lion suddenly stopped playing the harmonica. Slowly, the flaming lion faded away, and he removed the instrument from his lips.

From out of the brush came a frosty white butterfly, soaring over and perching onto the lion's shoulder, hopping around. Then more figures emerged from the brush.

"Ah, Jack, there you are!" Ani uttered in relief, running up to him with Striker, Snap, Whisker, and Milo pursuing.

Blinking, Johnny glanced towards the kids. "...you guys?" he uttered.

"Aye!" Whisker nodded. "Now, where be that monster?"

Hearing that surprised Johnny, though he didn't show it, as he shot a glance at Milo. _...you told them, you little rascal..._

Milo could tell it wasn't Jack, and he sighed. "...I had to tell them, because...I have a bad feeling that a lot of things are going to happen..."

"And we wanted to make sure you were okay, dude!" Striker said, putting a hand on Johnny's shoulder; something that slightly uneased Milo.

Johnny simply looked down at Striker, before nodding. "Well, I'm alright; no harm done, whatso-"

In that instant, a thunderous roar emerged from the cave, startling everyone present, save for Johnny.

"Aar, that be the monster!" Whisker said, as he glared at the cave. "Alright, ye beast; come an'-"

"Whoa, now, relax!" Quickly, Johnny ran in front of Whisker, to prevent him from doing anything rash. "There's no need to be rash about this!"

"...r-right," Ani uttered. "...i-it was just the thunder." Even if she knew better, she couldn't help but be startled by that.

Milo too, but he settled down the quickest. "...can we...meet this creature?" he asked, looking at Johnny.

"...yeah...if you're hanging out with him..." Striker added. "...he's okay then...right?"

"Eheh..." Johnny chuckled nervously, before he turned towards the cave._ ...if he roared like that... he must've seen Oblivion... _"...give me a sec." he uttered, before approaching the mouth of the cave. Quickly shooting a glance back at the group, Johnny sighed. _...guess it can't be helped._ he thought, before he looked back into the cave. "...Charon?"

"...who... did it...?" There was no mistaking it; that low voice most definitely belonged to Charon, who Johnny could see had risen from where he stood. More unfortunately, however, was the fact that the hybrid seemed to be carrying Oblivion's body.

Johnny blinked a little. _...sheesh... I can't believe that I've got to cover for Jack... _he thought irritably.

Milo was the only one who tip-toed closer to the mouth of the cave.

"...are you crazy?" Ani whispered.

"A little," Milo replied without looking back at her, looking in at what was going on. Although since it was nighttime, it was hard to see into the darkness of a cave.

"...Jack..." Charon growled, as they could hear footsteps inching closer to the entrance. "...who knocked Oblivion out?"

Gritting his teeth, Johnny tried finding a way to cover himself; not that he was afraid, but he knew that if Charon would torch Jack, he'd have no chance whatsoever at defeating Deity. "...um... Diablo showed up, and he, uh... tried hurting you! Oblivion tried making him stop, but he knocked her out, so I had to chase him off!"

"...Diablo..." At that point, Johnny grabbed Milo and pulled him away from the entrance, so the mighty Mobian could exit the cave without any obstructions, letting the group see him in full. "...where did he go?"

_"...whoa..." _Snap uttered in awe at the size of Charon.

Growling, Charon glanced at the others present. "...who are they?"

"...ah, they're my friends!" Johnny said, laughing a bit. "I told you about them, remember? It's Striker, Milo, Ani, Snap and Captain Whisker!"

"...ye told 'im about us?" Whisker uttered.

"Yeah, yeah!" Johnny laughed, though mentally, he really wished he could let Jack take over; however, he wouldn't be able to recall what happened after Oblivion nearly shanked him with that piece of Corruption. "I told him and Oblivion lots of stories... but it was supposed to be a secret; that's why I couldn't stay with you guys during the past few days."

Milo couldn't help but stare at the limp Oblivion in Charon's arms. There was something wrong... he couldn't sense any spiritual energy from her, and yet, he still sensed her body to be alive. "...excuse me," he said, walking toward Charon cautiously. "...could I look at her? I may be able to help her..."

Ani finally noticed with a gasp. "Oblivion?"

Milo just rolled his eyes. "Took you long enough to notice."

Charon looked down at Milo defensively, inching a bit away from him.

"Ah- it's alright." Johnny said. "He can help her out; I can vouch for him."

"...hrm..." Growling, Charon looked back down at Milo, before kneeling down by him, holding out Oblivion. "...if he says it's alright..." he murmured.

Milo observed Oblivion, and even checked her pulse. While he was doing this, that white, frosty butterfly landed on his shoulder, almost as if it was taking a look too. The strange thing was that her pulse was normal, but she was...cold. "...Jack," Milo said, making sure to play along that it was him. "...did Diablo do anything...else to her?" he asked.

"Ah..." Johnny uttered, as he scratched his head. "...well, I only saw that she fell, so I'm not sure if he..." At that point, he fell silent, holding his head with his right hand.

Charon blinked, as he glanced towards the lion. "...Jack?" he uttered.

For a while, however, he was silent. As this went on, he slowly looked around him, seeing everyone gathered there. "...you guys?" he uttered cluelessly. "When did you all show up?" Blinking, he looked at Charon. "Hey, why are we all outside? It's raining, too, so now we're all wet..."

The reaction to this, from just about everyone, was just as one would've expected. "...eh?" Whisker uttered.

Milo sighed. _...way to go, Johnny... _

Then he looked back at Oblivion...and he noticed it. Hurriedly, he moved her hair aside from her neck. "...Bite marks!" he uttered.

"Hn?" Seeing that, Charon's eyes widened. "...what in the-"

"AAH!" Quickly, Jack suddenly scrambled away from Oblivion, eyeing her fearfully. "Ch-Charon, be careful! She's not herself!"

"...not herself?" Hearing that, Charon put Oblivion down on the grass and quickly rose. "Jack, what are you talking about? And why are you acting so weirdly?"

"I... I remember..." Jack uttered, holding a hand to his head. "...Oblivion had something dark in her hands... and she was walking scarily towards you, Charon... and..." Then, he held his head in fright with both hands. "...I think she wanted to make a baby! With me!"

Striker screamed and jumped, knowing exactly what Jack was talking about in that last sentence. "THAT'S HORRIBLE!"

Milo was utterly baffled by all of this, but he took the key words "not herself" and "something dark in her hands." That, combined with bite marks, an answer came to him, but he was afraid to comprehend it. "...You're right Jack, she wasn't herself at all!" he uttered, looking right back at Oblivion.

"What do you mean by that?" Ani asked.

"...I can't sense any of her spiritual energy," Milo replied. "...but she's not dead..."

"...then what is it?" Charon uttered, as he suddenly grabbed Milo, pulling him up into the air, glaring at the small lion. "Tell me! What's happened to her? What did Diablo do?"

"Hey, let 'im go!" Whisker called, as he quickly began walking towards the dragon, when Jack suddenly got in the way. "Ah- Jack!"

"...he and Oblivion..." Jack uttered, as he looked back at the unicorn. "...they've been friends for a long time..."

Milo was shocked and scared that Charon picked him up like that. "...her life energy was consumed..." he uttered. "The bite marks on her neck indicated that someone sucked it out of her."

"...like a vampire," Striker shuddered at the haunting words he just said.

Milo craned his neck to look at his friends. "Then think: what kind of vampire can steal life energy?"

Ani's eyes widened and she covered her mouth in horror. "Oh my god..."

"...ye... can't be serious..." Whisker uttered. "...the only one who could've done that be..."

"...D-Deity..." Jack uttered, as his eyes widened in horror. "...N-Nova...god..."

"...Deity... Novagod?" Charon uttered, before he suddenly looked back at Milo. "He did that to her? Tell me... can it be reversed? Can she be saved?"

"Y-yes, it can," Milo answered nervously. "...but it means we have to find Deity, yank Oblivion's life energy out of him, and return it to her body..." Jack, or well, Johnny, said that Diablo did it, but why... and it came to him. "...Deity Novagod must be possessing Diablo..."

"...that's why Jill put the barrier up," Striker uttered.

"...to keep 'im from leavin'..." Whisker uttered.

"...then he's still on the island?" Charon uttered, before he let go of Milo. "...very well..." Then, he walked towards a cliff overlooking the village. "...I'll take care of him."

"Charon, wait!" Jack called. "It's dangerous! Deity uses this dark energy called Corruption, and it can infect you and do a lot of damage to-"

"DOES IT LOOK LIKE I CARE ABOUT THAT?" Charon suddenly roared, as he shot a sudden glare at the group.

The butterfly plucked right off of Milo's shoulder and onto Charon's nose.

Like with Milo, for a split second, Charon saw the girl, and heard a voice.

"Charon, please...this man is dangerous. You can't..."

And it was a voice and face he recognized.

Hearing that, Charon's eyes widened. "...n... no... way..." he uttered.

"...Charon?" Jack uttered. "...what's wrong?"

"...it... can't be..." At that point, Charon sank to his knees, as his other two heads simply looked at the butterfly perched on him. "...Jane?"

Milo looked at the butterfly. ...is that the name of the girl I saw and heard? He thought. ...how does Charon know her?

Then they all saw the butterfly jump from his nose to the ground. Shortly, the winds gently swirled around it, and it started carrying a white, sparkling, powdery light around this butterfly. This light brought forth a transparent figure of a young, brown, female mouse, who looked up at Charon.

All of their eyes widened.

Charon could only gape at this sight. "...J-Jane..." he uttered, slowly reaching a hand towards her. "...is it... really... you...?"

Jane touched his hand with her own. Though she was transparent, he could touch her and feel her. "...yes, it's me," she said.

"...those two...know each other?" Striker said in disbelief.

Milo just watched this sight. To think, this girl was with Joy all those times. Had she really been hanging around to find Charon?

"...J-Jane..." Charon uttered, as tears began welling up in his eyes. Gritting his teeth, he suddenly grabbed the mouse in a hug. "...I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" he wept, sobbing into her shoulder. "That day... I lost control of myself. I didn't mean to... please forgive me, Jane!"

"...Charon..." Jack uttered, tilting his head a little.

"...Oh Charon..." the mouse called Jane hugged him back sadly.

"...but... how...?" After a while, Charon pulled a bit away to look down at Jane. "...how are you... here, right now?"

"...a woman came to me, when I died..." Jane spoke. "...she brought me to her castle in the sky..."

That sounded awfully familiar to Milo. "...would this woman happen to be named Goddess?" he asked.

Jane turned quickly to him. "...you know her?"

Milo shrugged. "She's a mom of a friend of ours."

"...so you know Goddess?" Jack hummed, as he folded his arms. "That's pretty nifty..."

"...did she allow you to... take this form...?" Charon uttered, still looking down at her.

Jane closed her eyes. "...yes. She taught me how to do this...and so I've seen so much since the time of my death..." Jane opened her eyes and looked again. "...but now, I am here, because Goddess has sensed the "coming of darkness" as she called it. I thought it was a metaphor...but then today came, and we realized what she was talking about."

"...what's your duty, exactly?" Milo asked her.

"To aid you in any way I can," Jane replied.

"...so you can help us out?" Jack uttered, as he sat down, holding his head. "Man, that's a relief..."

"...aye, that be the truth..." Whisker nodded.

"...so..." Charon uttered. "...what do we do?"

Jane looked to Oblivion lying in the grass, and went to kneel by her. "...if I remember what I was told, Oblivion won't be able to stay alive without any life energy for very much longer," she said. "That is, until this...Deity Novagod starts to use her again as a puppet."

_"...that's a harsh way of putting it, isn't it?"_ asked Snap.

"...I know," Jane sighed. "...but spirits can also house a body, and if a spirit were to house her body, it will keep her body safe and out of Deity's control until we finally get the opportunity to take back her soul from him."

"Are you going to possess Oblivion, Jane?" Milo asked.

"...I've never done it before, but if I may, I can give it a try."

"...please." Charon uttered, as he closed his eyes. "...I don't... want to see a friend of mine... die. Not again."

Jane looked back at Charon in sympathy. She had watched Charon over the years she was gone; him and Oblivion had made good friends indeed. She was glad that he didn't end up dying that horrible death after she died. With that, she looked back at Oblivion and pressed her hands on the unicorn's chest.

The transparent figure instantly dove into the body before their very eyes.

It took a minute...but Oblivion's skin gained color, and she even twitched a little.

Quickly, Charon went over to Oblivion's side, kneeling by her. "...did it..." he uttered.

Oblivion's eyes popped open with a gasp, and she looked stressed out.

"Jane?" Milo uttered worriedly.

"...S-so many memories," she responded, sitting up and rubbing her head, trying to calm down.

"...what's going on?" Ani asked.

"...when a soul possesses someone else's body, they see some of the memories of the person they're possessing," Milo explained.

"...but with Oblivion," added the unicorn. "...I saw not just her memories...but the memories she erased. There were so many voices, and thoughts, and..." she just tried to calm down. "...a lot of disturbing things."

"...she's had to keep a lot secret, these past years..." Charon uttered, closing his eyes. "...but... at least now... she'll be safe."

"...that be good..." Whisker uttered, as he rubbed his head. "...but why would that vampire come up here, anyhow?"

"...he... came for Charon..." Jack uttered, as he held his head. "...I... think I remember him saying something about Kiri infecting others with Corruption, or something..." Then, he looked towards the unicorn and the dragon. "...I think he wanted to use Oblivion to infect Charon... so he'd be forced to work for him."

"Woah-woah-woah! Wait a minute!" Ani said. "...Kiri, using Corruption? Infecting others?"

"...this, is bad," Striker muttered. "REALLY bad..."

"...do you know where she is right now, Jack?" Charon uttered.

"...I-" Jack began, when he suddenly held his head, wincing in pain.

"Ah- hey, what be the matter, Jack?" Whisker called, slowly approaching the lion.

"...tsch... can't believe that I gotta blab my mouth to you all..." the lion sighed, before he stood up, folding his arms. "Alright, pay attention, and I'll tell you what I know." Johnny said sternly.

"...what the heck?" Ani muttered to herself.

Jane and Milo just stared at Johnny. Milo had wondered where Johnny had gotten off to... and judging that Jane was a spirit, she could somewhat see, or maybe just sense that it was someone else other than Jack. But she was still fairly new to this spirit stuff.

"...and just so you know, Milo," Johnny scoffed, as he glanced at the smaller lion, "I didn't switch out on purpose. Somehow, he managed to push me outta control." Then, he shrugged. "He's certainly a strange one..."

"...what are you talking about?" Charon uttered, as he tilted his head.

"That's not important right now." Johnny sighed, before he closed his eyes. "Now, here's the deal..."

At that point, Johnny told the group about everything Deity had told him before, during and after their battle, including how he had jumped from Metal to Jill to Diablo, about Kiri and what she was currently doing, and of his current goal. Once he was done, everyone looked back at him with wide eyes.

"...d-did ye say that..." Whisker uttered. "...he was plannin' on killin' Joy?"

"I know; how petty can you get?" Johnny sighed. "Regardless, that's something we can't let happen. Thanks to Jill, though, he can't get off the island, so it's all a matter of finding and eliminating him, before he turns the entire island's population into a glob of Corruption."

They all looked at each other uneasily.

"...well...now what do we do?" Striker asked.

"Obviously, the first thing we need to do is to make sure that Deity hasn't gotten to Joy while we've been talking." Johnny said. "After that, we'll need to figure out a way we can fight them off." Then, he shrugged. "Because let's be honest; apart from Metal, Jill and Joy, how many people on this island can kill someone who's fused with Corruption?"

"...if we're to go to Jill and Joy..." Charon uttered, before he nodded. "...then we musn't delay. I'll take everyone to where she resides."

"...but what about you, Charon?" Milo asked. "You're still hiding from everyone, aren't you?"

"...right now..." Charon uttered. "...me remaining hidden is of little consequence. Novagod is a much bigger threat than I could ever be... and we have to stop him."

"...man, this is going to be one crazy night," Ani murmured, rubbing her brows. "It's gonna be one heck of a time explaining this to my dad and the group."

"Regardless, they've got to listen; otherwise, we're all screwed." Johnny nodded. "Now, let's go!"

* * *

Sitting in front of Jill's shop, Lock was making sure that his rifle was in tip-top shape. _...hopefully, no one's going to try anything funny before they recover..._

At that point, Lock heard some rustling from the jungle, and instinctively, he aimed his rifle towards where the noise came from. "...who's there?"

"...Lock?" Hearing that voice brought a sense of relief over the bounty hunter, as Tails emerged from the jungle, rubbing the back of his head. "Good to see you... but why are you on guard like this?"

"...long story." Lock murmured, as he motioned towards the house. "Hurry inside; it'll be safer there."

Blinking, Tails eventually complied, hurrying as best he could towards the house.

Inside the shop, Tails also met with Cal and Charmy, who sat at one of the tables. With the door opening, Cal stood up when he saw Tails. "Professor...you're safe..." he muttered.

"Thank goodness," Charmy remarked, setting down his tea.

"...I take it that I've missed out on something big." Tails assumed, as he took a seat next to the two of them. "What's been going on?"

"...so much," Cal murmured. "I...don't even really know where to start."

"Then let me," Charmy said, turning to Tails afterward. "We have ourselves a catastrophe, and that fire was only the beginning of it. While all of us were preoccupied with that, Joy and Metal got kidnapped."

"...they did?" Tails hummed in surprise. "By whom?"

"It was Diablo and Kiri's doing," Cal cut in. "And Tails Doll saw them, so he went to alert Jill. When they got there...according to Tails Doll, they trapped Jill in choosing between whether or not she loved Joy or Metal more."

"No doubt using those two to play her emotions..." Charmy muttered, sipping his tea.

"...hm... what a cruel thing to do..." Tails murmured, as he closed his eyes. "...pardon me, but may I ask for a cup, as well?"

"Of course," Charmy sat up and headed for the kettle behind the counter, which was still plenty warm.

"...what they were trying to do was put Jill in enough stress to draw out Callous..." Cal continued. "...but it didn't work out the way they intended. Instead, they summoned...Deity Novagod."

"...Novagod?" That certainly surprised Tails, who looked back at Charmy. "...he managed to move from Metal to Jill, huh..." he presumed, before sighing.

"...Yep." Charmy answered, pouring the kettle into a small cub with a tea bag in it.

"...Deity was wrecking havoc, and he tried to harm Joy," Cal said. "Surprisingly enough, Joy actually fought back and defended herself and Metal, until Jill fought herself enough to force Deity into Diablo."

"...so Deity is within him, now..." Tails hummed, as he nodded. "...if that's the case, I can understand if we're on edge."

"Metal, Jill and Joy are safe upstairs, resting," Charmy said, bring Tails his cup of tea.

"...and ever since then, Lock stood guard to make sure nothing disturbed them," Cal finished.

"...I noticed." Tails mused, as he took the cup with a nod. "...I do hope Striker and the others gets back safely..."

Cal tilted his head at Tails. "Where did they go?"

"...they went to look after Jack." Tails replied, before he glanced out of the window. "...according to Milo, he's been playing with that monster everyone's been talking about..."

"What?" The surprises never stopped with Cal.

Charmy took the news better. "Well, how fun," he chuckled.

"...well, in any case, I hope they'll be safe." Tails murmured. "Especially with hoodlums like Deity running about..."

Outside, just as he was inspecting the cartridge filled with Unity, Lock heard more rustling from the woods, and curiously, he aimed his rifle there. "...who is it?" he uttered.

The response he got was a pair of screams, as two Mobians ran out of the woods; a zebra and a jackal; Will. "...hey! You gotta help us! We've gotta hide!" Will cried in panic.

Cal noticed the two outside, and he went out the door. "What's going on?" he asked.

"Stand back." Lock uttered, as he was focused on the woods behind the two Mobians. "We've got company."

In that instant, what seemed like a shadow creeping along the ground rushed out of the jungle, quickly making its way under the zebra, before shadowy hands erupted from the shade, grabbing hold of the zebra and pulling him towards the woods.

Seeing that, Will stopped and turned around. "Shit! Not you, too!"

Cal drew out his katanas. "...is it Deity?" While he couldn't fight normally, he did have an alternative.

He just wasn't sure if he should resort to that alternative.

Just then they heard terrible screams, "OH GOD! NOOOOO!" It was so loud it echoed, and scattered various birds away from the woods.

Gritting his teeth, Will ran past Cal and Lock, right into the shop.

"...Cal. You get inside." Lock uttered, as he quickly replaced the cartridge within his rifle with the one charged with Unity. "I need to see if this works."

Cal looked at Lock, and alternated to the woods. "...Just be careful," he said, sheathing his swords and returning inside.

"Well, you look frightened," Charmy said to the jackal, incredibly calm about this while sipping his tea.

"...I... look _frightened?" _Will yelled. "I just watched my buddies get picked off by a demonic octopus, for crying out loud! You expect me to be calm about this?"

"...demonic... octopus...?" Tails uttered, as he glanced out of the window.

"...now... come on out." Lock uttered, keeping his rifle trained on the jungle.

"...mmmh... as cold as I remember you... Lock the Sniper." At that point, someone emerged from the woods, and just the mere sight of her surprised Lock.

It was Hex; however, her appearance had changed drastically from when he had seen her at the tournament. Her entire body had taken on a more grayish hue, her eyes had taken on a purple glow, and her hands had torn through her gloves, letting the bounty hunter see how grotesquely thin her hands, along with her entire body, had become. The only thing that seemed to have grown were her breasts, which were shown off even more, thanks to her torn dress. The most notable thing about her, though, was what seemed to be a cloud of darkness lingering underneath her tentacles.

"...you've been infected with Corruption..." Lock sighed, as he prepared to fire at her. "...well, this should at least test my theory." Then, he fired a dark-green blast at the octopus, who merely stood there with a sultry smirk.

Suddenly, something came out and stood in front of Hex, taking the blast instead. Seeing that, Lock blinked, as he tilted his head.

"Mmmh..." Hex chuckled, as she folded her arms. "...did you really think that I wouldn't have some worshipers ready to stand at my side?"

Gritting his teeth, Lock shifted his focus from Hex to the one who took the blast, to see what would happen to him, now that he had been shot with Unity. It happened to be a mole-rat, one of Will's buddies, but the blast utterly destroyed him in splatters. And this time, the splatters didn't group together and regenerate.

"...mmmh..." Hex chuckled. "...what a cold thing to do."

"...make no mistake." Lock uttered, as he aimed the rifle at Hex as well. "I'll take you out as well."

"Oh, I wonder if you will." Hex chuckled, before she snapped her fingers.

Instantly, two more characters leaped from the woods, both of them looking more like they were living dead, than anything else; a zebra and a ferret.

"Have fun with my new toys, Lock the Sniper..." Hex chuckled, as she slithered back into the woods. "...and give my regards to Jillian, while you're at it."

Instantly, the two of them rushed right at Lock, who quickly aimed the rifle right at the ferret. Firing a shot, it blasted the ferret into nothing but splatters of Corruption. Then the zebra started running at him at a rapid rate, all while Lock was in the middle of trying to recover from firing at the ferret.

Lock grit his teeth, desperately trying to move his rifle, but it didn't seem like he would be able to get a shot in time. _...damn it..._

All of a sudden, however, a massive blast of fire from above suddenly nailed the zebra, scorching the ground he stood on beyond recognition.

Cal's eyes widened. "...that was...a close one."

Lock blinked, as he glanced up at the air, where he could see a massive silhouette descending from the sky. "...what in the world...?"

At that point, slamming into the ground in front of Lock, was a massive, three-headed creature, who carried a lot of people on his back, all of them quickly getting off once he landed. "...sorry for intruding..." Charon uttered, one of his heads looking back at Lock.

"...um... don't worry about it?" Lock uttered; dumbfounded for once in his life.

"Hi Lock!" Striker laughed at Lock's puzzlement.

"...yeah...we kinda have a lot of explaining to do..." Milo murmured sheepishly.

Charmy just laughed. "Well, it looks like they're alright after all Tails." But then, he heard something clunking down the stairs, and Charmy looked.

Joy was rubbing her eyes tiredly when she fully descended the stairs, and yawned.

"...ah, Joy." Tails hummed upon seeing her. "Are you alright?"

Will, on the other hand, could only gape at the sight of the massive dragon standing right outside. "...buh..."

"Mhm," Joy replied to Tails.

Then she, too, noticed the dragon outside. "...ooh," and immediately walked out the door.

"Joy-wait!" Cal uttered, following her outside.

Once she got out, everyone glanced towards her. "...Joy." Lock uttered. "You're awake."

"Aye, it's great t' see ye alright, Joy." Whisker uttered in relief.

"...hi, Joy!" Jack called with a wave to the small ewe.

Charon, however, merely looked down at her, growling curiously.

"Hi!" Joy waved back, smiling to see all her friends. Then her eyes fell on Charon again, and soon, she started walking toward him, still smiling.

Seeing that, Charon blinked. "...aren't you..." he uttered. "...scared of me?"

"Nuh-uh," Joy replied, "'cause my Mama taught me that what you look like don't matter. If you're nice on the inside, then I'm not scared."

Jane smiled when she heard that.

With a small growl, Charon knelt by Joy, simply looking at her. "...how... curious..."

"...well, in any case..." Lock uttered, as he looked at his rifle for a short while. "...it works." Then, he walked into the shop. "Striker, Snap, come with me. We need to talk with the Professor."

"Right!" both of them said, following Lock inside quickly.

"AH-Joy!" Cal suddenly grabbed Joy when she was about to take a step. "Watch it there, Joy; you don't want to touch that stuff."

Joy was confused, until she looked down and saw black goo where she was about to step. Looking around, she saw that the same black goo was everywhere. Milo saw her, and noticed the goo as well. Then he looked at Joy and could tell that the gears were turning in her head. _...what are you thinking about?_ he wondered.

Then Joy reached for the goo by her feet. Cal pulled her away. "Hey! Didn't I tell you not to touch it?" he said.

"But Cal, we gotsa get all the goo!" she protested, and Cal just stared at her in disbelief.

"...why?"

"We gotsa get the goo together!"

Milo kept looking at her. "...Cal, I think we should try and do it," he muttered.

Cal looked at Milo, and then Joy again. "...well, let me do it at least." Once he set Joy down, his hands were consumed in a dark energy, and he started picking the goo up and putting in all in one pile on the ground.

"...what are you..." Charon uttered, as he tilted his head.

Blinking, Jack glanced towards Joy as well. _...what's she planning?_ he thought.

While Cal continued to do that, Joy, in the meantime, ran inside the shop and grabbed Will's hand, so she could pull him outside. "C'mon!"

"Eh- what?" Will uttered, letting himself get pulled out of the building by Joy.

Joy made it to the pile that Cal made, and let go of Will's hand.

Then everyone saw something they hadn't yet seen before. Joy's hands started to glow with a white light.

All of their eyes widened.

"...white... light?" Jack uttered, as he knelt by Joy in awe at this.

Joy walked closer toward the pile of black goo, and then stuck her hands inside, moving them around in there; almost as if she was looking for something in there. Everyone watched her do this speechlessly for awhile.

Then Joy's hands stopped, and came out. She was holding something.

A hand, and when she pulled, an arm came with that hand.

Soon, she managed to pull out an entire Mobian, who was coughing for air. "...g-gods... that was horrible..." the ferret from Will's group coughed.

Will, naturally, was astounded by this. "...how the hell..."

Joy got the ferret fully out, and set him to the side safely. Then she returned to the goo pile and proceeded with sticking her hands in there again.

This time, it didn't take very long for Joy to find something again, and what she pulled out this time was another Mobian; the mole-rat. He was crying as Joy helped him out of the goo, "Oh, thank you so much!" he wept, while Joy set him by the ferret.

"...y-you're..." Will uttered, before he sank to his knees.

"...how in the world is she...?" Charon uttered.

Joy went back into the goo one last time, knowing there was one more. When she found him and pulled him out, a zebra let out a big gasp for fresh air. "...it...it was a nightmare!" he uttered, once Joy finally had him out. Then he looked down at Joy. "...little girl...you have my thanks..."

Joy nodded. "You're welcome."

Then she allowed the zebra to join with the ferret and the mole-rat.

"...g-guys..." Will uttered, practically on the verge of tears. "...GODDAMN IT, YOU GUYS MADE ME WORRY!" he suddenly yelled, quickly running at the three and grabbing them all in a hug. "Don't make me worry about you so much, damn it!"

"...W-Will..." the ferret managed to cough.

"...they're back together again..." Ani murmured, touched by this even if Will and his gang caused nothing but trouble. Then she looked over at Joy, who just smiled at Will and his group reuniting.

"...Aw dude...don't make me cry again," sniffed the mole-rat in their group hug.

"I'm not crying, damn it!" Will protested, even if he couldn't be further from the truth. "I just got rain in my eyes, that's all!"

"...man..." Jack uttered, before he looked at Joy. "...how'd you figure out how to do that?"

"...dunno," she replied.

"...so, it just came to you?" Milo asked.

"Mhm," Joy nodded. The goo on her hands then sizzled and smoked away, leaving her hands spotless with that white glow. Then the same thing started happening to the pile of goo beside them; the fumes of it rising and fading away into the night.

"...amazing..." Ani uttered breathlessly.

"...I'll say..." Whisker uttered in awe.

Inside, Tails had watched this with a look of surprise. "...that child really is something else..." he mused.

"...it's a relief to know that even if we destroy everyone who were infected, there's still a chance of bringing them back." Lock murmured, leaning against the wall with an empty cartridge in his hand.

_"...that must be why Deity is after Joy,"_ Snap muttered. More steps were heard from upstairs, and the group in the shop turned to see Jill and Metal walking down into the shop.

Seeing what was outside, Jill stopped. "...what's going on?"

"Your daughter just saved three men that were overtaken with Corruption," Charmy replied.

"...she did what?" Metal uttered.

"You heard him." Lock said, before he placed the cartridge down next to Tails. "Now... we need to work out how we're going to deal with this. We can't rely on letting only Metal and Jill take care of Deity and the others infected with Corruption; if things go awry, they won't have enough energy to deal with the vampire."

Jill only headed outside. Hearing that Joy saved more than one person under the influence of Corruption was...incredible. Not even _she _could do that, which made her realize just how important Joy was.

"...Joy?"

Joy turned with a smile. "Mama!" and ran to hug her.

"...you mean...that was Jill's kid that saved us?" the zebra muttered in disbelief.

"...I can really not believe it... but that's the truth." Will nodded.

"...then... we really can't let Deity get to her." Charon uttered, as he glanced towards the two of them.

Jill picked up Joy and held her while looking at the others scattered in front of her shop. Since Striker was here, she figured that Whisker and the rest of the gang would be here, but seeing Charon and Jane out here was another sight for sure. She stared at them for a bit, knowing that they looked familiar...

...but she just couldn't put her finger on it.

"...Joy, you amaze me..." she muttered under her breath. "...you really amaze me."


	21. Chapter 21

_**5 Years Later – Chapter Twenty-One...**_

Within the arena, Sage just finished the last repairs to the place, looking over her work with a look of satisfaction. "There. Now, I need to find King and the others... if things are as dire as Jill thought they were..."

"...Saaaaaage..."

Suddenly, Sage knew she wasn't alone in the arena any longer, hearing that voice echo.

With that, Sage's eyes went towards where she heard the voice the strongest. "...Raider." she growled. "Why don't you show yourself? I already know what's happened to you."

The demented ox came out of the shadows of a hallway from the rows of seats in the arena, and he looked down at Sage with a scowl.

Sage, however, merely looked up at him with a frown. "...you know, if you were going to infect Hex, you could've gone about it a different way; here I thought that you had learned your lesson." she scoffed.

"I just decided to give her a taste of her own medicine," Raider snorted. "Besides, I still don't remember anything from before...and I want to know what you did to me to turn me into the basket case I used to be."

"...hmph. If you really must know..." Sage scoffed, as she folded her arms. "...I gave you a taste of your own medicine."

"...I see," Raider murmured. "...so what that hedgehog said finally makes sense now." He started walking down the stairs closer toward Sage, who was still standing on that stage.

"...so, what, you're going to try and get back at me, for what I did to you?" Sage presumed, raising her eyebrow. "I possess powers greater than you could imagine, Raider. Even if I can't kill you, I can still hand you your ass on a platter without batting an eyelid."

"We aren't really that stupid."

Someone else was in the arena as well. From below Sage's feet, black darkness burst out on the ground.

"Hn?" Quickly, Sage took to the air, watching the darkness warily. "...you've been planning this out. Commendable." she hummed.

From out of the darkness emerged that leopard. "Raider may have forgotten about you and your powers, but I haven't," Diablo said. "We don't aim to defeat and kill you, Sage...we aim to make you one of us."

"...I could figure that out without you telling me." Sage uttered. "But no matter, Novagod; I can read your every move. You won't be able to even lay a finger on me, and the same goes for Raider."

"But even then, you know how persistent we are, and you said yourself that you couldn't kill us," Diablo continued. "...then again, we wouldn't go for you directly. We could always just...you know...take each of your comrades one by one and use them against you."

Sage frowned. "...you try that, Novagod, and I swear; you _will_ suffer." she growled.

"Right..." Diablo allowed Corruption to ooze from his hand, and shot forward with a flap of his wings to lunge at Sage.

"Hm." Quickly, Sage's eyes glowed, as Diablo slammed into a psychic barrier, which sent him rocketing down to the ground again. "I told you; you won't be able to-"

In that instant, from two different directions, blue flames rocketed right at Sage. Being surprised by this, she began flying about to evade the flames, but they kept following her.

"...now that she's occupied..." someone behind Diablo chuckled, as the leopard felt a hand on his shoulder. "...how about we go over a few things, Diablo?" As it turned out, the one behind Diablo was Spiel, who merely looked down at him with a neutral glance.

Before Raider would have the chance to try and attack Spiel, all of a sudden, Krieg leaped in front of the ox, his arms folded. "...stay put." he uttered.

"Such as?" Diablo asked, simply looking over at Spiel.

"See, I have a little... problem... with you intending to turn Sage into one of your little zombie-minions." Spiel said matter-of-factly, managing a smile. "You see, Diablo... I've got plans for her. But to do that, I need her alive. And preferably, not listening to your orders. In fact, it ain't even a matter of preference; I just don't want her taking orders from you." Then, he glanced up at the sky. "In fact, that goes for all of the leaders of the island... King, included. So... I'd prefer it if you let them be."

"...very well," Diablo murmured. "It isn't like they can stop me anyhow...or you for that matter, Spiel Gierig."

Spiel chuckled at that. "Oh, really?" he chuckled. "Don't think I'm afraid of you, just because you've got those wings. You're still nothin' special without your tools."

Diablo closed his eyes. "...you miss something, Gierig. I am not Diablo." And the leopard grabbed his throat and threw the pig onto the ground with an amazing feat. "But your talent rivals Jillian's, which has much potential. Perhaps I could use it..." and with that, he dug his nails into Spiel's throat, intending to start the process of Corrupting him.

Indeed, the goop began spreading across Spiel's body, who, surprisingly enough, didn't seem bothered by this. "...the hell is this?" he scoffed. "I'm not impressed by it!" At that point, that blood-red aura erupted around him, managing to not only knock away Deity, but also erode the goop that had spread across his body. With a scowl, the pig got on his feet, glaring at the leopard.

Deity stopped on his feet, and looked at Spiel. "Impressive," he said, rubbing his chin. "Your will is quite strong."

Spiel scoffed. "What the hell was that goop, anyway?" he uttered.

"A power called Corruption," Diablo answered.

"...Corruption... huh." Spiel hummed, before chuckling. "Well, if that's the case, it did a poor job of corrupting me. If you're not Diablo, then I guess you're even more worthless than him."

"Insult doesn't get you very far," Diablo replied. "In fact...what you showed me proved that corrupting you may not have been best idea." He paced around the pig while he continued, "...you are even more ambitious than I am, which could make you more of a thorn in my side than that 3 year old girl, had I given you that power." To be honest, Johnny was bad enough, since he wasn't locked in one place like Callous was.

"Well, good thing that you didn't, then." Spiel chuckled. "Who am I talking to, anyway? And why'd you bother taking over a weakling's body, like Diablo?" Then, he folded his arms. "Seems to me that you got the short end of the stick."

"I suppose I did, because I didn't choose to be in Diablo," the leopard murmured. "Originally, I was housed in Jillian, but that meddling witch inside her shoved me into this amateur." Diablo glared at Spiel, "and to answer your earlier question, I am Deity Novagod."

"...Deity Novagod..." Spiel hummed, before smirking. "What a pretentious name. I suppose it fits ya perfectly." Then, he bowed mockingly. "I know you already know me, but allow me to formally introduce myself. I am Spiel Gierig. My associate is Krieg Verruga, in case you were curious."

"Yes, I was even aware of your associate," Diablo murmured. "After all, I had a chance to spar with him in the tournament. I'm sure he would know what I mean."

Krieg was silent; he had an idea of what he was talking about. "...so you were the presence I felt." he murmured. "I should have known."

Spiel, on the other hand, looked back at Diablo with a raised eyebrow. "...so, what're you planning on, now, Novagod?"

"I have other affairs with Jillian and Metal, such as taking the life of her daughter," Diablo said.

"...I see." Spiel hummed, before he smirked. "And beyond that?"

"Not your concern," Diablo replied dryly.

"Ah, of course." Spiel chuckled. "...though, I can only guess, given what you tried doing to me, planned on doing to Sage, and most likely did to Raider... you're planning some form of world conquest?"

"And what would I gain from that?" Diablo asked him. "Tell me. What could I possibly want by ruling the world?"

"Well, there's a plethora of possibilities, when you stop and think of what you can do." Spiel chuckled. "For instance; with that corruption-thing of yours, you could create your very own harem. Or if you're the kind of guy who feeds on flesh, then presto; you've got all the food you could ever want."

"I have no greed, therefore, there's nothing I would really ever gain from conquering the world," Diablo scoffed.

"Then what is it?" Spiel pressed on. "You can't have power like that without having some form of grander scheme. You said that my ambition was greater than yours, but so far, I've had no idea what your ambition even is. If it's just to kill Jillian's daughter, then that's not really a big ambition." Then, he moved his index finger towards his head, to make the impression that he was holding a gun. "Just get a gun, point it at her head, and... pow." To emphasize his point, he pretended to fire the "gun", his head reeling away from the "shot".

"It's not that simple," Diablo replied. "Joy possesses powers hardly any could anticipate...and why would I even tell you what I plan to do after the three of them are dead? You said so yourself, 'eat, or be eaten.'"

Spiel hummed, as he folded his arms. "...heh. Didn't think anyone else on the island would even bother with that saying." he chuckled, before smirking. "But still, what makes you think that you can kill Jill and Metal, let alone defeat them?" Then, he shook his head. "Even if Metal couldn't stand against me, I know that you wouldn't be able to defeat him... not with that body, at least."

"I can kill him the same way that I killed the legendary Sonic the Hedgehog," Diablo murmured. "They are alike, aren't they? ...or did you know the truth about Metal Sonic?"

"...Metal Sonic..." Spiel hummed, before chuckling. "...well, anyone who's checked up basic history knows about that guy. So, he was the one, all this time... curious." Then, he shrugged. "But do entertain me, Novagod; just how did you kill Sonic the Hedgehog? I can't tell you if that method would work or not if I don't even know the method in question."

"Why would I want your advice on how to kill my enemy?" Diablo grumbled.

"Hey, I may not look like it, but I'm a smart guy." Spiel chuckled, tapping the side of his head. "At the very least, smart enough to come up with several ways of killing Joy within the few moments of our conversation." Then, he shook his head. "Of course, not that I'd have any interest in killing her; she's a child." As he spoke, he looked back at Deity. "A child that someone, who killed a legendary hero, apparently is scared of."

"I'm not scared of her," Diablo answered. "I simply see her as a threat. You would kill a child too if they had the potential of beating you..." He closed his eyes. "But she is young, so killing her now will keep her from developing her powers and learning how to harness them. That's the logical way of putting it anyway."

"...and how do you plan on surviving long enough to do that?" Spiel chuckled. "Even if you kill Metal and Joy... you'd have one hell of a pissed-off mother to deal with. And as far as I'm concerned, those fancy powers that you, Jill and Joy have can't compare to the fury of someone who's lost their kid."

"Corruption feeds on the power of negative emotions," Diablo replied. "Take her child and lover, and she will be too lost in her grief to fight the Corruption, thus finally be consumed by it, and gotten rid of for good." He looked up at the night sky, knowing that barrier was still there, even when it was invisible. "After all, I ruined her whole life to keep her vulnerable to Corruption."

"...feh." Spiel scoffed. "Still seems to me that you're just squandering away untapped potential. For what purpose do you haggle young girls like that?" Then, he folded his arms with a small scowl. "Really, you're coming off as very scatter-brained, Novagod; not exactly a good sign."

"Not scatter-brained; just very secretive of certain parts of my information," Diablo corrected. "Now, if you're just going to start an argument with me, I have no business with you."

"Oh, I'm not trying to start anything." Spiel said, as he glared angrily at the leopard. "But know this... I've got too big plans for your "secretive motives" to get in the way of. If I find out that you're doing nothing logical... I'll come after you. And trust me... no one wants me to come after them." Then, he turned around and began walking off. "We're leaving, Krieg."

As Spiel left, Krieg nodded, before he followed Spiel out of the arena.

Once they were gone, Diablo sent a glance at Raider. "C'mon. We also have things to do."

* * *

Thankfully, as Diablo and Spiel had their conversation, the blue flames had forced Sage to flee the arena. At the moment, she flew across the jungle, trying to locate any of the other agents, or hell, anyone other than Diablo, Raider, Kiri and Hex. _...though I wonder... what were Spiel's intentions?_ As the flames had kept her so busy, she had only caught that Spiel had arrived with Krieg, and thus, didn't manage to read his mind to see what he was up to. Tsch... more problems pile up...

"Sage! Over here!" Someone jumped out of hiding and waved their arms about wildly to catch her attention; Hunter.

"...ah, Hunter." Sage said with a sigh of relief, before she descended down to the ground. Once she landed, she saw that Hunter wasn't the only one there; the other agents, along with Tasha and Sonia, were gathered there. "Why, it's a huge gathering." she remarked.

"Now's not the time for joking, Sage." King said, as he folded his arms. "We need to figure out what's going on around here."

"...what, that's all?" Sage hummed, before smiling. "And here I was looking forward to a challenge." In that instant, everyone in the group were told mentally just what Sage had read from Jill, and what happened over at the arena.

"...man..." Sonia uttered, holding her head. "...trippy."

"...and disconcerting." Queen murmured. "So all of this happened without our knowledge...?"

"That's Deity Novagod to you," Hunter growled. "...still, how he could slip out like that is just...frustrating." He punched a tree. "All that effort 5 years ago to put him away and he just comes back like this..."

"...kekeke... but now he can't get away from the island, thanks to Jill!" Ripper chimed in, trying to lighten the mood a bit.

"...still, there's not many who can combat Corruption." Sage murmured. "Even me and King would be hard-pressed to destroy someone infected with that stuff; the only reason I managed to destroy Bloom and Gloom was because of the storm covering Angel Island..."

"...but we can't let it stop us." King growled, slamming his fists together. "I won't let that conniving vampire do as he pleases with Safe Haven!"

"...I assume that Jill took refuge somewhere?" Tasha asked.

"If I'm not mistaken, she's at her shop." Sage nodded. "Metal and Joy are there as well..."

"...well, we shouldn't let them stay on their own for too long; Deity could think of attacking them there." Miser said.

"GUYS!" From deeper in the jungle, a few figures ran towards the group; Boomer, Newt, Natal and Rudy. "They're everywhere!" Rudy uttered in fright. "More and more soldiers are getting taken by the darkness!"

"It's really bad out there," Boomer said. "Soon, we'll have a war going on, and on an island with weapons and super powers, it's not going to be pretty."

Tasha grew more worried about this. How could all of this happen? Her father's dead, her people lost their home, and now all this?

"...tsch..." King growled. "...who's the one leading the attacks?"

"...from what we've seen..." Natal uttered, folding her arms. "...Kiri, Hex and Raider have been responsible for turning more soldiers."

"But the crazy thing is..." Newt began. "...everyone who gets infected can infect others! It's like a horror movie, y'know!"

"...but this isn't a movie." Sage murmured. "In any case, we need to regroup with Jill and the others. From there, we'll mount an offensive."

Boomer noticed Tasha growing uneasy, and she put a hand on her shoulder. "...don't worry," Boomer said. "We saw Flamenco and Lin taking your people to the shelter along with some soldiers to guard them. They're safe."

Tasha smiled in thankful appreciation, but that didn't keep her from worrying.

"Let's go," Hunter said.

* * *

"Still raining..." Striker murmured with boredom, staring outside into the night.

"...I don't think it's going to stop any time, soon." Lock responded dryly. At the moment, he was doing some modifications to Tails' arm cannon, whilst the old fox watched him at work.

"...so you're saying that with the proper modifications, it should be able to use the same cartridges as your rifle?" he presumed.

"Yes." Lock replied curtly. "If I can modify enough weapons, we might have a big enough arsenal to help drive off the ones infected by Corruption." Then, he glanced at Striker. "If possible, Snap could be modified to be compatible with them as well."

"Oh yeah!" Striker exclaimed with a smile, since the thought hadn't occurred to him.

"They try touching me, and they're gonna think twice," Ani chuckled.

"...please tell me that you still don't turn into a werewolf," Milo groaned.

"Of course I do. Not like I can't; I _was _born like that you know. And if Corruption still has that effect on me, then I'll kick some serious butt!" Ani threw up a fist. "Thank you Goddess!"

Milo just rolled his eyes.

"...let's just hope that we won't be gettin' into bigger trouble tonight..." Whisker sighed, as he folded his arms, before glancing out the window.

Out there, Charon sat, his arms folded, and two of his heads with their eyes closed. His third head, however, was scanning the area, waiting to see if anyone intended to attack them. If they did, he would make sure that they didn't get far.

"...sooo..." Will's group was sitting in the shop too, looking at the others. "...you guys...went through this before?" uttered the mole-rat.

A series of "Yeses," "Yeps," and "Uh-huhs," answered his question, all of them answered with a casual and relaxed tone. Will only looked at them with a raised eyebrow.

"...remind me not to ask for photos." he sighed.

"Duly noted." Lock replied in that same casual tone, without taking his focus off the arm cannon.

"You know, I kinda miss not having Punk and Gale here too," Ani murmured, while getting to thinking about the last time they actually went through anything major like this. "Sure, they didn't do anything, but having them here would really make this feel like old times." Ani looked to Lock then. "How have they been, Lock?"

"...since those days, they've been more in line than they used to." Lock said with a shrug. "They still cause a ruckus from time to time, but they've learned not to act too rashly when it comes to aspiring Extreme Gear racers, at least."

Striker chuckled, "Good to know."

Upstairs, it was just Metal, Jill and Joy. Jill was standing by the window, looking outside silently and thinking with a bit of a sad look on her face. Joy was looking at her mother, sitting with Metal on the couch. "...why's Mama sad?" she asked Metal quietly, so she wouldn't be heard.

Metal sighed, before he glanced down at Joy. "...we did a lot to make sure that Novagod couldn't hurt anyone, five years ago..." he said quietly as well. "...but now... everything we did seems to have been undone... I think she's sad because of that."

Joy looked up at Metal. "...where did Deity come from, Daddy?"

Metal hummed a bit, thinking of the question. "...I'm not sure on exactly where he came from." he eventually said. "But, from what I understand... evil energy seeped into a bat one day, and Deity was the result of that. He's been around for a very long time; longer than even you and Jill."

"Wow, he's old...but that means Deity wasn't bad at first, right?" Joy asked again.

"...I'm not sure." Metal admitted. "...but regardless if he was good or bad back then... he's done a lot of cruel things since then..."

"...what did he do?" Joy asked worriedly. "...did he hurt Mama?" She remembered the dreams, and wondered if they really happened.

"...he hurt a lot of people..." Metal murmured. "...including Jill."

"...did he hurt you too?"

"...yes." Metal nodded, as he closed his eyes.

Joy looked back at Mama. "...and he's gonna try and hurt us," she murmured.

"...we won't let him do that." Metal said, placing a hand on Joy's head. "Trust me; I'll make sure that he won't harm a hair on your head, Joy."

Joy smiled a little, looking back up at Metal.

"...Metal..." Jill spoke this time, and she didn't turn away from the window.

Blinking, Metal glanced back at Jill. "...what is it, Jill?" he hummed.

"If things get desperate," she murmured. "...are you capable of warping off this island?"

"...I suppose so." Metal nodded. "...why do you ask?"

"...because I'm wondering whether or not we'll need the Chaos Emeralds."

"...the Chaos Emeralds?" Metal blinked upon hearing that; ever since coming to Safe Haven, both Metropolis and the emeralds had slipped his mind. "...they would come in handy..." he nodded, before he folded his arms. "...but they weren't enough to deal with him five years ago..." he murmured off-hand.

"Even then, they helped a good deal," Jill continued, having heard him. "If anything...they can help get everyone out quickly if it's gotten too dangerous..."

"...hopefully..." Metal murmured. "...but if that is the case, I'll need to go alone." he added, looking back at Jill. "Without any emeralds, I can't carry anyone with me, and the distance I can warp won't be too great... so even then, it'll take me a while to get to Metropolis..."

Jill finally turned away from the window to look at Metal. "...if you left now...you might be able to return in time," she muttered.

Metal merely looked at Jill after that. "...would that be wise?" he uttered. "There's no telling what could happen while I'm gone..."

"If we waited until we really needed them, it could be too late," Jill reasoned.

"...true enough..." Metal nodded, as he folded his arms. "...well... if I hurry..." Then, he walked towards Jill, placing his hands on her shoulders. "...in the meantime... stay safe."

Jill looked up at him and tried to keep a straight face, nodding. Eventually, she ended up wrapping her arms around Metal and hugging him. Metal, too, ended up hugging back. Joy watched the two of them hug like this. She didn't want Metal to go either, but it looked like he had to.

So she got off the couch and rushed toward them to hug Metal too.

Feeling her hug him, Metal grit his teeth. Deep down, he didn't want to leave them; he wanted to stay and make sure that everyone was safe...

...however, he knew that he had to go. With a small sigh, Metal knelt down so he could hug Joy as well. Joy hugged Metal tight, wanting to remember this while Metal was gone, in case she wouldn't see him again for a really long time.

"I love you Daddy," she murmured in his shoulder.

"...I love you too, Joy." Metal replied, before he rubbed Joy's head. "Stay strong." After a little while longer, he let go of Joy, before standing up. "...I'll head off, now." he said, looking back at Jill.

"...okay," Jill said quietly, nodding again. "...hurry back."

"...I will." Metal nodded, before he closed his eyes.

In that instant, he vanished.

Jill swallowed her feelings down, telling herself that he would come back. She'd see him again. Joy went to her and she picked her up. "...He'll hurry back Mama," she said, noticing that Jill was still sad.

Jill held her tight. "...I know..." she murmured. After awhile, Jill headed for the stairs, carrying Joy. "...we'll have to tell everyone else."

Once they got downstairs, they saw that Lock, Tails and Striker were inspecting Snap, to see what they would need to modify to make him compatible with Lock's cartridges. When they went down the stairs, however, everyone glanced towards them. "...is something the matter?" Lock hummed curiously.

"...nothing..." Jill murmured. "...but Metal, he..."

"...yes?" Milo urged Jill to continue.

"...he went to get...the Chaos Emeralds. I figured that we might need them...and if he left now, then he could make it back before anything bad happens."

"...so Metal's gone?" Jack murmured, before he folded his arms. "...well... I hope he's quick about it..."

"I'm sure he'll do it as quickly as he can." Lock nodded. "In the meantime, we'll have to make sure that nothing too bad happens in his absence."

"...right..." Jill murmured, nodding. Observing what the three of them were doing with Snap, Jill set down Joy and came over. "...so what are you trying to do?"

"We wanted to see if Snap could use Unity, like Lock's cartridges," Striker replied. "That way, his cannon could be more helpful."

"We've already managed to modify Tails' arm cannon into being compatible with them." Lock said with a nod. "It shouldn't take too much work to do the same to Snap."

"Though, I'm afraid I'm a little too old to help out with fighting these hordes..." Tails hummed. "I'm afraid someone else would have to use my arm cannon in my place..."

"I nominate Milo!" Ani said, raising her hand. "He has no way of fighting these guys!"

"I nominate him too!" Striker said.

Milo just looked at them, "Whoa, whoa, whoa! I'm not a fighter guys!"

"Maybe you don't have to fight them," Jill continued, "but there needs to be someone guarding the uninfected after all, and you're the most perceptive to-"

"...hold on," Milo stopped Jill in her tracks, surprising her. Then he sighed. "...I guess it's kinda silly, but Striker, Jack, Captain Whisker and I have a motto...we pirates stick together, especially when the time gets tough." It was silent for awhile, and then he finally looked at Tails. "I'll take the arm cannon and fight," he said. "Just as long as we stick together."

"...very well." Tails said with a smile. "Just make sure to be careful."

Outside, Charon still kept a sharp eye on his surroundings, when he heard a noise from above. When he looked up, he saw a black, feathered Mobian land down on the ground before him, with several others with her. "...we're-" Sage uttered, when she spotted the dragon. "...well... what do you know."

Hunter was extremely shocked to see a creature like Charon at Jill's front steps, but since the monster didn't attack them, there wasn't any need for alarm. "…w-who are you?" he asked Charon.

Charon remained silent, merely observing the group. "...the monster." he eventually growled.

"...I figured as much." Sage said with a nod.

"...but... why are you here?" King uttered warily.

"...you're not the only ones who feel that this spread of Corruption is a threat." Charon replied.

"…so you know what's going on?" Hunter assumed.

"…he wouldn't be here at Jill's shop if he didn't know what was going on," Tasha said. Looking at Charon, hearing that he was the monster, she wasn't sure how to go about it. This creature caused explosions that hurt her people, but at the same time, she knew that she couldn't let hard feelings interfere with judgment.

After all, she lost her father not too long ago. She used a lot of effort to control herself.

"...you should go inside." Charon uttered. "I'm standing guard, in case anyone tries attacking the place."

"...and you're sure that you can fight them off?" Queen hummed.

"Yes." Charon nodded. "Now, hurry in."

Hunter walked on up to the door and opened it so that the others could walk in. This definitely attracted the attention of everyone in the shop; they more likely noticed when Sage and the group first arrived outside, to be honest.

"Hi Dad," Ani greeted.

"…hey," Hunter murmured back.

"...so, I take it that everyone's in here?" King hummed once they were all inside.

"...no..." Sage hummed. "...Metal's not here... he's gone after the Chaos Emeralds."

"...they should still be in Metropolis..." Wiper murmured. "...hopefully, he should be able to get back here soon."

"He'll come back…" Joy murmured, maybe just to assure herself that Metal would. Then again, Joy didn't have abandonment issues like Jill did, despite how well Jill was handling it.

"…I assume that Sage told you everything?" Jill supposed.

"Less "told us", and more "planted it into our minds", really." Queen said dryly.

"Well, we couldn't afford to waste time." Sage said with a light shrug. "Especially with Spiel loose..."

"...they managed to infect Spiel?" Will uttered in shock.

"They didn't." Sage murmured. "...but I don't know whether that's good for us... or worse." Then, she folded her arms. "He's scheming something, but I couldn't catch what it was; someone drove me away before I could read him."

"...and if Spiel's scheming..." King murmured, before he snapped his fingers. "...now we've got another threat to worry about."

"Well, at least he isn't infected by Corruption." Lock said with a shrug.

Jill looked back and forth, and hearing that Spiel had plans of his own was worrying for her. Had Spiel been strong enough to resist Corruption, or did Deity Novagod just leave him alone? It was hard to say.

"Maybe Spiel might get derailed from his own plans because of Deity, who knows…" Boomer spoke up. "Right now, our priority is the building army we're going to face."

"Indeed." Lock nodded. "Now, even if we're vastly outnumbered, it seems that the shots from the cartridges have enough power to down anyone infected by Corruption in a single shot." As he spoke, he placed one cartridge on the table he sat by. "Therefore, we should focus on modifying more weapons to be compatible with them." Then, he looked at Boomer. "I'll go out on a limb and assume that you brought some weapons to the island?"

"They're in the pub in mine and Newt's room," Boomer replied. "All it'll take are some simple tweaks and they'll be what we need."

Jill took a seat over by Tails and Lock, with Joy climbing into her lap. "…we'll need to figure out a strategy too. Dividing into a few teams should help."

"Yeah, we need a team that'll help Flamenco and Lin protect the uninfected," Hunter uttered in realization.

"I'll be part of that team." Miser uttered, before she placed something against the wall; her railgun. "Lock, if you could modify this, I'd be most thankful."

"Certainly." Lock nodded, before he looked at Sage. "Since you're psychic, you could fly and catch the weapons from the pub without being caught, right?"

"Of course." Sage nodded, as she closed her eyes. "...now, one thing we need to consider when building the teams, is to be wary of Kiri, Raider and Hex. Apart from Diablo, they should be the strongest of the infected at the moment."

"I wanna fight the giant horde of Corrupted!" Ani insisted.

"Yes, we do need some front lines," Charmy murmured. "With a large group keeping all the countless unnamed Corruption occupied, we should have another team sneaking around and taking down the big titans like Kiri, Raider, and Hex. Not only that, but we would have to keep all three of them separated, and more importantly, away from Deity."

"...I'm going in the group dealing with the big names." King murmured.

"I should go, too; I have experience in covertly dealing with targets." Lock nodded, before he folded his arms.

"...what about Charon?" Jack eventually said, as he glanced at the dragon outside. "Who should he go with?"

"…he should go with the group taking down Kiri, Hex, and Raider," Milo replied. "After all…we have to save Oblivion…"

"So King, Charon, Lock…" Striker looked around, until his eyes fell on Jill. "…what about Jill? What should she do?"

Jill kept silent.

"I would think that she should go help take out the 3 big ones," Hunter murmured, "but that's just me."

"What about if those on the front lines run out of ammo?" Boomer muttered. "The minute their ammo's gone, we're done for. I think she should stay here."

"But what about my people?" Tasha threw in. "…what if they run out of ammo there, and the Corruption reaches my people and the other uninfected?"

"...hrm..." Lock hummed, as he glanced at the ewe with a raised eyebrow. "...well, Jill... this is a decision you have to make. What will you do?"

Jill looked at all of them. "…if it's all the same…" she murmured. "…I want to—" then she stopped in the middle of her sentence.

"…Jill?" Milo uttered.

"Now hold on, I want to put my opinion out," she started again; Jill's eyes flashing red.

"...hn?" Lock blinked at that.

Instantly, both Jack and Sage's eyes widened. "...Callous?" both of them uttered simultaneously.

Even Joy looked up with widened eyes.

"Personally, what she wanted to do wasn't exactly the brightest idea," Jill continued, folding her arms. "What she wanted to do was see if she could track down Diablo or Deity, or whatever he's going to call himself, but even I'm not that bold."

"...keke?" Ripper uttered, as he tilted his head. "She wanted to go right at him?"

"...that would be suicidal." Lock murmured. "If Deity's as strong as he was five years ago, we'd need more than just Jill to take him out."

"...of course, he could be even stronger, as well." Sage muttered.

"Exactly," Jill replied. "And we all know we don't want Jill out for the count." She noticed that Joy stared at her.

Assuming that Joy was scared of Callous, Tails placed a hand on Joy's shoulder, whilst keeping an eye on Jill.

"...so, do you have anything else in mind, Callous?" Jack uttered, as he slowly approached the ewe.

"Have her help you all as much as she can, like for instance, say there might be too many of them and you DO run out of ammo," Jill continued. "Have her diminish a good amount of the numbers of the frontlines before she catches up with King's group, then take out the three sub bosses before everyone goes after the head honcho...and even then, we'd have to wait until good ol' Toaster comes back with the cavalry."

"And what about Joy?" Striker asked. "Would she come with, or would she stay where it was safe?"

Jill actually closed her eyes to ponder that. "...I wouldn't keep her separated from her mother to be honest; especially not at a time like this," she finally said, "but ultimately it's up to her. She IS her mother, after all..."

"...hm." Lock nodded. "...well, then..." he said, before standing up. "...let's properly divide ourselves."

Jill cut in. "And Jack-a-mo should come with the assault team with King."

"...why?" Boomer asked.

"...reasons," Jill replied vaguely. Milo got the message, figuring it was because of Johnny.

"...me?" Jack uttered. "...but... I'm not nearly as good as King or Lock; I'd only get in the way..."

"...you shouldn't doubt your own abilities, Jack." Lock said. "Your harmonica could come in handy for stunning the persistent ones."

"Kekeke!" Ripper called. "I'll help Miser protect the uninfected!"

"I can help out on the front-lines..." Sage said, before she headed for the door. "Just give me a moment to grab Boomer's weapons." Then, she headed outside, and flew off.

"...Tasha." King uttered, as he glanced at the lynx. "...what are you gonna do?"

"...I wish to come with you, Twilight," Tasha said. "...but my duty is to my people, and I must be there for them. I think I should be on the defensive with Miser and Ripper..."

"...yeah... that would be the wisest thing to do." King nodded. "Just be careful."

"...alright, then." Wiper nodded, before he looked at Teams Alpha and Chaotix. "Some of us should go to the front lines, and some of us should help with defending. Who will go where?"

Charmy stood up. "Here's what I find appropriate. Sage, My team, team Alpha and the rest of the Clubhouse Pirates should be on the frontlines," he said.

"Me too," threw in Hunter.

"I'll help out with the defenses." Queen said, before glancing at Will's group. "And you four will be joining us."

"EH?" all of them yelled in unison. "B-b-b-b-b-but what do you expect us to do?" Will sputtered. "What if Hex decides to sneak by? We can't stop her like that!"

"...aren't you part of Safe Haven?" Queen uttered. "Then show what you're capable of."

"Kkh..." Will growled, before sighing. "...cold."

"Hey, I'll help out on the front lines as well." Sonia said with a nod, placing her hand on her left hip. "The more people we've got taking care of those guys, the better."

"...well, I believe that settles it." Lock nodded. "Once Sage returns with the weapons, and we've modified them... we move out."

"Sounds like a plan," Jill said, smirking. Then she looked to see that Joy was STILL staring at her, making Jill's smirk fall. "...is something wrong?"

"...you just look like my Mama...but you aren't, right?" Joy asked her.

Jack glanced back at Joy after she made that comment, before he looked back at Jill, to see what she'd say in response.

Jill was still silent for a little while. "...yeah, I guess that's right," she murmured. "...but don't worry kid. I'm not bad. Let's just say I'm a..._friend_ of your mom's."

Well, she saw those red eyes when her mother was possessed by Deity, which kept the vampire from hurting her and Metal. Then it pushed the bad man out of Mama. With what 3 year old logic she had, she figured that she wasn't going to hurt her. Joy was willing to believe that, so she nodded.

"...so...the rumors of a witch living in Jill is true?" the zebra asked, getting a look from Jill.

"Now who would go around calling me a witch?" she asked. "So I like to live on the dark side a little. Nothing wrong with that, right?"

Hearing that, Sonia glanced at Jill. "...so, you've been in her all this time, huh?" she assumed.

"Yep, pretty much," Jill replied.

"...hm..." Sonia hummed, as she folded her arms. "...just don't think of doing anything suspicious."

At that point, the door opened, and Sage walked into the room, with weapons floating behind her. "Thankfully, I didn't run into any hoodlums on the way." she said, as she closed the door behind her.

"Good; we're in business." Lock hummed, before he gave Striker and Tails a nod. "Let's get to work."

"And do you think you could finally let Jill have control again, Callous?" Hunter asked.

"Hm?" Jill let out a laugh of realization. "Oh yeah, I almost forgot." Then her eyes changed green and Jill held her head, moaning. "...I'm sorry, I conked out..." she murmured.

"Well, not exactly," Milo said. "You see, Callous had a few choice words too."

Jill's eyes widened when Milo said that to her. "...What did she say?"

So Milo got to explaining, while the others finally got to work.

* * *

Midnight struck, which was the presumed hour that the battling might take place; it seemed appropriate. Everyone was in their positions too, and their patience was wearing thin. Jill's building not only had it's own barrier of Unity around it, but it also had, in front of the building out in the street, bags of flour creating a protective wall for those in the use of Boomer's and Newt's modified weapons, filled to the brim with Unity. Tails and Charmy were waiting inside the shop, standing by with walkie-talkies that linked with the other groups.

Another group stood in front of the shelter's entrance which, thanks to Jill, had a barrier around it also, to keep those with Corruption from sneaking in through 'the dark' or by any other means. Queen was inside the doorway with their own walkie talkie to keep communication with the other groups.

The last, was on Jill's very rooftop, with Charon's three heads examining the area around them, and King, Lock, Jane, Jack were next to him, ready to take flight with him when the time was right.

Jill and Joy were back in her bedroom, and Jill was prepping Joy.

"...this is going to be one of the scariest things you'll ever go through, Joy," Jill murmured, hugging her tight. "...I never wanted you to go through anything like this at your age...I'm so sorry it all happened."

"Don't worry Mama," Joy said. "...Daddy will come back and it'll get better..."

"...that's right," Jill said, nodding.

"...Jill. Joy." Charon uttered. "Are you two ready?"

"...we're ready." Jill took Joy up in her arms and climbed out their bedroom window, onto the shingles of the roofhead above the shop.

"...good. Everyone, get on board." Charon said, letting everyone climb onto his back.

_"King. Are you guys ready to take off?"_ King heard Queen call from a walkie-talkie he carried with him.

"We're ready." King spoke into it. "Everything's calm on your front?"

_"No one's shown themselves yet." _Queen replied. _"Still, we're prepared..."_

"...just be careful." King replied, before placing the walkie-talkie away. "Let's fly."

Nodding, Charon took to the air, his heads looking down at the woods to see if there was any movement there.

Striker pressed the button, and Snap split apart to latch to his arms again as those gauntlets, with Snap's holographic head appearing. "Wow, I didn't think we'd come to this when we came onto the island, huh guys?" Striker said, watching Charon fly off.

"Not at all," Milo said jokingly, observing the arm cannon that Tails fastened onto him. "Exciting stuff never happens to us. We're just dying of boredom."

"Well, now we get a lot of action, me mateys." Whisker chuckled, as he cracked his knuckles. "Be ye ready to show them the strength of the Clubhouse Pirates?"

"Just don't get too careless." Wiper warned. "If you lose focus, you could easily be preyed upon."

"Right," Striker replied. "We'll be careful."

"And if not, I'll rip you apart for goofing off and glue you back together," Ani threatened.

That managed to get some chuckles out of the group.

"Heh... weird that we're chucklin' in this kinda situation, y'know." Newt mused.

"Well, we'll be short on laughs for the night." Natal chimed in. "We might as well make sure that the ones we have last."

"You know, I think this is the first time you've ever let me touch your weapons, Boomer," Rudy chuckled.

"This is a special case, Rudy; normally I wouldn't let you near it with a 50 foot pole," Boomer replied. "Not that I'd have to tell you that."

"Yeah, I know, sheesh," Rudy groaned. "Your temper's so explosive that, if it was a weapon, it would kick Deity's butt ten-fold."

"My anger's not THAT bad!" Boomer protested.

"...well, it kind of is." Sage chuckled, patting Boomer on the head. "Don't take it personally, though."

"...hrm..." Sonia hummed, as she glanced warily from side to side. "...they're not showing up... this is getting tense..."

"...we just need to be patient." Wiper said. "They're bound to come here eventually..."

Charmy overheard them and buzzed up the walkie-talkie. "Queen, are you guys still doing alright?"

"We are." Queen replied, as she glanced at the other defendants on her end. "We're keeping our cool, and so far, we're not seeing any movement."

"...kekekeke... when was the last time we were on the defensive, Miser?" Ripper mused, his arms folded.

"...a long time ago..." Miser murmured, as she aimed her railgun outside, ready to fire at anyone who were going to make a move on them.

"...F-Flammy..." Lin uttered, as she glanced at the toucan. "...d-do you think we can deal with them?"

"...that, I do not have the answer to," Flamenco muttered, keeping his eyes out.

"...but we must," Tasha added with a determined look on her face. "The rest of those people inside depend on us."

"...geez, don't remind us of the pressure, lady," groaned the mole-rat.

"Yeah; I mean, with all of those zombies lurking about..." the ferret murmured.

"Now that's not nice to say." Lin suddenly said, waggling a finger at the ferret. "They're not zombies, and they can be brought back."

"But with that Deity guy..." Will murmured, before sighing. "...sheesh, I dunno. Marco, just don't call 'em zombies, alright?" he told the ferret. "We don't need Marylin here to reprimand us for saying something like that."

"But come on; they infect others and are basically mindless. That screams "zombie" to me." the ferret known as Marco said, throwing his hands in the air.

"...Will, Seymour, Marco, Edmund." Queen uttered, shooting the four a glance. "Focus."

"Hey, don't say my whole name!" complained the mole-rat.

"Shut up Ed," the zebra growled.

The mole-rat, Ed, shut up, which left the zebra, Seymour, looking on out just like the others, waiting to see if anybody would show up at their door step.

"...hmm..." Queen hummed, as she folded her arms. _...I hope King and the others will be safe... _she thought.

Up in the skies, Charon flew circles, really. They couldn't start the operation until contact was made with the enemy, so until then, Charon would be scouting the skies. In the meantime, Jack had enlightened Jill on a bit of information.

"...I see," Jill murmured, looking toward Jane. "So you aren't Oblivion?"

"Correct," Jane replied. "I'm merely taking care of her body so that Deity does not endanger her life."

"We're hoping that when we beat Deity, we can get Oblivion back to normal." Jack said with a nod.

Charon, in the meantime, was silent, merely observing the landscape below them.

"...and...you've met my mother?" Jill murmured, looking away.

"...yes," Jane answered.

"...how is she doing?"

Jane looked at the sky. "...I'm sure she's fine...but I haven't been in the spirit world in awhile. I've spent my time in this world as nothing but a butterfly..."

That information struck Jill, and she shot a look back at Jane. Memories of that winter in the snow, being cornered by wolves, rushed back to Jill. That butterfly...could that have been...her? More thoughts led to others, and Jill kept wondering more and more. "...Do you ever talk to other spirits?" Jill asked with a gulp.

"...I've been by myself a lot," Jane replied. "But the spirit I've ever really socialized with hardly ever comes to this world." Jane's thoughts suddenly jolted back to the same thing Jill was thinking of...

Yes, she was that butterfly from long ago, and she just now realized it when she looked at Jill again. This was that woman...how could that have slipped her mind like that?

"...you see," Jane continued, wanting to be careful with what she said. "...he...finds it hard to come here."

Jill's eyes widened.

"...hn?" Blinking, Charon spotted some movement, headed towards the shelter and shop. "...King. Warn the others. They're coming."

Nodding, King whipped out the walkie. "Listen up; we've spotted enemy movement, headed your way. Prepare for battle!"

Ed screamed at the sound of that, and held onto Seymour who pushed him away in disgust.

Striker felt something take his hand, and he looked over to see Ani. She was the one holding his hand. He wondered why that was, and for some reason he stared at Ani, and she looked back. "...we both better make it out of this," Ani muttered uneasily. "...okay?"

Striker looked at her for a long time. "...okay."

With a slight gulp, Miser steadied her aim, whilst Queen and Ripper stood by her. "...luck be with us." the rhino uttered.

"...alright..." Wiper hissed, as he folded his arms. "...bring it on."

They came out of the jungle without warning, numerous, maybe _countless _of the infected charging toward both groups; more with the group at the shop, since there were more defending it.

"FIRE!" screamed Boomer, though she really didn't have to say anything because on sight, everyone was unloading what they had into the army of zombies running at them. Every way one seemed to look, splatters of Corruption began covering the ground from the array of blasts fired from both groups.

Still, some groups of infected seemed to crawl their way past the blast, headed closer to the shelter.

"Tsch." Queen scoffed, before she glanced at the group she was stationed with. "Hold the fort." she said, before giving Ripper a nod. "Let's get them, with all haste."

"Kekekeke! I can get behind that plan!" In that instant, both the bear and the mantis leaped from the shelter, the latter slicing infected to ribbons the moment they got too close, and the former zipping hastily between the infected, slamming several of them away from the shelter, leaving them no room to get a chance at striking her.

"...whoa..." to see Safe Haven administrators giving so much into the fight that they never saw before, it left Will's group in awe.

With more of the infected coming though, it required Tasha's assistance as well, jumping right in. With her spear, she fought back many of them; cutting them in half or beheading them with the blade, and batting them away with the staff.

Back at the shop, much more zombies were pushing closer to them.

"Okay Cal!" Ani said.

Cal put his hands on the teen's shoulders, and a black glow amassed her. At first, it was making her feel a little nauseous, and then she fell to her knees on all fours, groaning. This was a signal to Cal to back away. Even if all of the boys had heard Ani turning into a werewolf, they never had the opportunity to see her change for themselves, so they curiously watched while they tried to keep fire.

First off, her arms and legs ripped through pieces of her clothing as they grew, though lucky some clothes remained attached to conceal...certain parts of her body. Opening her mouth when she moaned in pain, they could see her teeth grow and sharpen, and eventually she let out a beastly growl. Then, more tails spouted out from behind her.

Milo looked at her in horror.

Striker almost stopped for a minute, until one of the zombies nearly got him and he fired out of panic. _"Keep focused, Striker!" _Snap reminded him, though he too was terrified of Ani's transformation.

It had been a long time since she turned, and she took a minute to get over the nausea before she smirked with a sharp grin, and jumped right into the zombies, plowing through them.

"YAAAR! LET'S GET 'EM!" Whisker roared, as buzzsaws suddenly protruded from his wrists, before he leaped high into the air, slamming smack-dab into the middle of the crowd of infected, scattering them with a shockwave.

"Natal, Cal, cover me!" Wiper called, as he leaped into action as well. Lacking Ripper's blades and Queen's brute strength, Wiper focused on pinpoint precision, making sure to paralyze any infected he came across with precise jabs of his hands.

"Let's go!" Sonia called, leaping into action as well, kicking her way through the hordes of infected with graceful, dance-like moves.

As Queen and Ripper were cutting a wave through the infected, Miser noticed a group of them preparing a sneak attack on them. "Look out!" she called, quickly aiming her railgun and firing a shot, tearing through a good swathe of those infected.

"...man... they're good." Will uttered, feeling fairly insignificant as he and his comrades simply fired Unity-charged weapons at the infected.

All of the fighting below, and Charon's group from above just watched it a little.

"...they're holding their own, I see..." Lock hummed.

"...well, in any case, we should-" Charon murmured, when his gaze suddenly directed itself towards the ground. "Hang on!" Quickly, the group followed Charon's advice, just as the dragon began flying around in evasive maneuvers. Several bolts of what seemed to be dark energy shot at them, intending to fire them out of the sky.

Joy nearly flew off, but she was lucky since Jill grabbed her, and held her between herself and Charon so Joy was perfectly safe. If only Charon would sit still, so that she could pull out her bow and see if she could hit what was shooting at them.

"...who's firing at us?" King growled. "Maybe I oughta fire at them; see how they like it!"

"Don't push your luck!" Charon called, as he still kept trying to fly away from the projectiles. "Right now, we have to-"

At that point, one blast suddenly slammed right into Charon's gut, forcing him to let out a cry of pain. However, while it didn't start infecting him, it caused him to spiral out of control, sending everyone flying off his back, scattering the group; only Jack and Jane managed to hold onto the dragon as he plummeted downwards. Lock, King, Jill and Joy, however, were blown away in different directions towards the jungle.

Jill made sure to hang onto Joy tight, because Joy was really scared while falling at this kind of height. When they'd hit the trees though, Jill popped out her wings and they stopped and softened the fall, so Jill could literally land gently on her feet without any trouble.

"It's okay," she tried to ease her scared little daughter, hushing her.

"...mmmh..." At that point, the darkness around the trees that surrounded them began to waver. "...Jillian and Joy... how marvelous... I'm sure I can share the ultimate pleasure with you two..."

That voice was unmistakable. Emerging from the shadow of the trees was Hex, who looked at the two with that ungodly, sultry smirk of hers. "...the pleasure that comes from the darkness, that is." she chuckled.

While Joy shuddered, Jill just shook her head in pity. "I've heard _that_ line before..."

"...oh, have you?" Hex chuckled. "...well, let's not waste time with idle chatter. Diablo wants the life of your child... but I think I'd rather keep her for myself... as a new plaything. I hope you won't mind, Jillian?"

All of a sudden, the darkness from the trees suddenly opened up like a wave, which threatened to swallow up both Jill and Joy. "Now, drown in my glorious darkness!" Hex cackled.

Just then, right above Jill and Joy, a bright, red light suddenly shone, before the darkness was pushed back by that light. _"Your dark can't flush out my light!"_ a small, familiar voice called.

"...what?" Hex uttered, as she looked above Jill and Joy. There, hovering above them, was Tails Doll, who glared at the demonic octopus menacingly.

"Tais Doh!" Joy exclaimed.

Jill growled at what Hex said. She was glad that Tails Doll was here, but she'd have to take charge of the battle before Hex tried something worse. "You lay a tentacle on my daughter, and I'll give you the same thrashing I did at the tournament, only without mercy," Jill said, slowly setting Joy down on the ground.

"...mmmh... if that is what you wish..." Hex chuckled. "...I won't lay a tentacle on her..."

Just then, just next to Joy, darkness erupted upwards in the shape of a hand, which suddenly went and snatched Tails Doll. _"AGH!"_

"...but you and the doll are still fair game." Hex chuckled, as the hand rushed away from Jill and Joy, towards the octopus.

_"Whaa!"_ Tails Doll cried, trying to break free. _"...what's with this? It's like she can control shadows!"_ he called, shooting a glance at Hex, who was still laughing.

"Leave Tais Doh alone!" Joy cried, and she was going to run to Hex, but Jill stopped her with a hand.

"...let me handle it," she whispered. "...I promise nothing will happen to Tails Doll..." Joy looked up at her mother in despair, but she obeyed, stepping back a little bit...

...and Jill waved a hand, so a barrier suddenly appeared around Joy. Shocked, she pounded against it, but found that she could get out of it. "MAMA!" she cried.

"...sorry Joy," Jill murmured under her breath. "Can't take any chances..." then she turned back to Hex, opening her hand. A green energy granted the ewe her bow, which was still made like it had been at the final battle with Deity years ago; one half of the bow was made with an angel wing, and the other, a demonic wing. The bow string of course, was still golden, like she remembered.

Pulling back on the string, a golden arrow appeared in place. "Let him go," Jill said.

"...oh, my." Hex chuckled. "Aren't you the brave one, Jillian..." Then, she shrugged. "Sadly, I have to... mmmh... say no."

Just then, shadowy arms shot from the ground and grabbed hold of Jill's arms, keeping her in place. "Did you not consider my ability when you aimed your weapon at me?" Hex said in a mocking tone. "Thanks to the overwhelming might of Corruption, I'm able to manipulate any shadow that is in contact with my own." Then, she laughed. "Wouldn't you say that it's lucky, that we're in the middle of a dark forest, at midnight, with the moon covered by rain clouds?"

Jill only glared at Hex. "...and doing things to me in front of my daughter is just as unforgivable, just so you know..."

"Oh, my; so many taboos." Hex chuckled. "But I must sate my lust somehow... so, who shall drown in darkness?" she said, first pointing at Joy. "The daughter?" Then, she pointed at Jill. "The mother?" Finally, her finger moved towards Tails Doll. "Or the toy?"

_"...Jill..." _Tails Doll uttered, as he glanced at the ewe. _"...what do we do?"_

Jill grit her teeth, and bowed her head. _...not again,_ she thought.

Silence.

Then finally...Jill started chuckling, which broke out into a cackling laughter; something incredibly unlike her.

Hearing that, Hex blinked. "...oh, my. Did you lose your mind? And I didn't even do anything..."

Jill finally calmed, but with a smirk; her eyes closed still.

Then she uttered this out, _"$#%(#*()_$()."_ Which only said this to Hex.

_"Release us."_

Suddenly, the shadow hands just vanished without Hex's control.

Hex's eyes widened. "...what? How could you command my darkness like that?"

Quickly, as he had been released, Tails Doll fluttered over to Jill, looking at her warily.

"Not only are you going against Ms. Goody Goody Mom," Jill laughed. "But you're up against the former Princess of Darkness. I sure miss being able to use Corruption like you guys can." Then she opened her eyes, and revealed that they were red. "Oh well. Nice to know I can kick your slithering, slimy ass. At least, I THINK you have one, right Hex?"

Hex growled, before she cracked her neck. "...hmph. So, you think you're hot stuff, huh?" she snarled. "I couldn't care less about you being some princess; the dark is mine to rule!"

"Oh really?" Jill only chuckled. "I was still kicking when you lost your virginity. Too bad I can't give you guys pointers though. Seems I get stuck being forced to work with the good guys." Opening her hand, she brought out a weapon she hadn't seen in a LONG time; that long, black scythe with that black rose in its hilt.

Joy just looked at her in disbelief.

Snarling, Hex allowed shadows to manifest around her arms, forming a long javelin, its blade burning a dark flame. "Don't expect this to be an easy battle, "princess"." she said with spite in her tone.

"There are some words I could say, but I'm sure Mommy wants me to be careful what I say around her little girl," Jill chuckled. "I'm already pushing it." Then she lunged at Hex with a swing.

However, the dark fire around Hex's javelin suddenly formed a barrier that stopped the scythe. "How poor!" she mocked, before aiming a series of slashes at the ewe.

Jill proceeded to block these, and she REALLY had some things to say. "Joy, honey, I'd just cover your ears from now on," she chuckled.

Joy obeyed, holding her hands on her ears firmly.

"You too plush-toy," Jill said, looking at Tails Doll.

_"...kay." _Tails Doll nodded, placing his hands where his ears would have been.

"...man, it was priceless enough holding the idea of sex against him, but to think that she had competition!" Jill suddenly laughed. "Who knew the Toaster would attract the ladies like that?" And she returned Hex's attacks with more swings of the scythe blade.

"Well, he _is_ quite the catch!" Hex called back, the fire from her javelin still acting as a shield, whilst she swung her weapon at Jill. "Once I've dealt with you, I'll take Metal Sonic for a ride of pleasure he will never forget!"

"Oh, you will?" Jill only kept smirking. "Well, I don't think you could top what they had. No siree..."

Gritting her teeth, Hex began putting more effort into her assault. "What makes you think that she could be anything compared to me?" she snarled.

Jill only blocked with more ease. "Oh, I don't know," she continued; finding it entertaining that this really bothered Hex. "She had a certain...knack for finding his hot spots."

One could see that Hex was losing her patience. "And you're saying that I couldn't do that? What do you think these tentacles were _made_ for, you hussy? Cooking sushi?"

"I could make you into sushi if I wanted," Jill chuckled. "But in all seriousness, I think Jill might be a prodigy and she doesn't even know it...I guess it's a pity she saved herself for only two guys..." Jill smirked. "...well, make that three, really." When Hex's focus was tampered with enough, Jill punched Hex in the face with a Unity-augmented punch.

"FUAH!" Hex cried out, skidding back a bit from that punch. "...gaah..." she uttered, trailing a tentacle against where she had been punched. "...you bitch!" she screamed, as four arms of darkness quickly grabbed Jill's arms and legs, before a fifth arm suddenly shot out and punched her in the gut with incredible force. Once it connected, the arms vanished before she could command them to disappear.

Jill coughed, and then spat, still smirking. "Oh, does it really bother you that much?" she continued. "Are you really that intent on getting him?"

"It's not just him, now." Hex snarled, as a pair of hands suddenly slammed against Jill's knees, to force her to kneel. "With my power, I shall plunge the entire world into a cesspool of pleasure! Once I'm done, I will be treated as a goddess amongst men and women alike! And I will not have some third-rate _whore_ make a mockery of me!" Then, more hands began rocketing out of the dark, viciously pummeling Jill.

Jill took the beatings with a smile, still. Making Hex mad like this was worth getting hurt. "Don't you really want his leg to brush against your back like it did for her?" Jill whispered deviously. "To feel his fingers counting your rips up like he did for her?"

Hex's pupils grew smaller in pure rage at these comments. "...shut up!" she yelled, as more hands began pummeling Jill even more than before. "Shut up, shut up, shut up!"

Joy grew more afraid watching Jill get beaten up like this, but it was almost...hopeful to still see her smiling; though to any sensible person, they would just find that plain creepy. "...oh, how he moaned at her touch..." she said in-between pained grunts and winces. "...when her hands clawed at his back..."

"SHUT UP!" At this point, Hex had truly lost it, as she ran right at Jill, hoisted her to her feet, and began slapping her repeatedly. "!"

When Hex actually got to a point where she paused from her slapping to see if Jill was still even conscious, she was and beaming proudly. "...got'cha." Then Hex felt a tremendous amount of pain in her gut. Slowly looking down, she saw that Jill's sword ran right through her abdomen.

"...wha..." Hex coughed, as she stepped away from Jill, looking down at the blade through her. "...what is...?"

"...there's one thing that makes sex so breathtaking, Hex, and I'll come off like such a cheesy sap for saying it," Jill uttered, stumbling from the hits she had taken. "But there's a reason they call it "love making." Unfortunately, you're even colder than I am...cold as death itself, it seems."

Sinking to her knees, Hex glared up at Jill. "...y-you..." she coughed, as black goo dripped from her wound and mouth.

Jill sauntered up to her then, and leaned down to her face, smirking at her. "...by the way," she whispered with a chuckle. "...Johnny's tentacle sex is better..."

At that point, Hex's eyes widened. _"...you... you... __**you..."**_At that point, she suddenly let out a deafening scream, as an aura of darkness exploded around her, sending Jill hurling right into the barrier keeping Joy safe.

The barrier shattered, and Jill grabbed Joy to make sure she wouldn't get hurt. Then she glanced back. "...hm...something tells me I shouldn't have said that..." she murmured.

"...can I take my hands off my ears?" Joy asked.

"...I'd keep them there; it'd be wise," Jill advised, standing back up to face Hex, holding Joy in her arms.

Hex was still screaming, as suddenly, the dark cloud underneath her tentacles shot upwards, engulfing the octopus. Soon, the screaming died out, and a wicked laughter began roaring through the air, as the three could see a pair of purple glows shine through the dark whirlwind.

_"...what's happening to her?" _Tails Doll called.

_**"Oh, I'll tell you..."**_ Hex voice laughed, though now, it was heavily distorted. _**"...the witch within Jillian has brought forth a beast without compare!" **_At that point, the whirlwind vanished, letting the three see that Hex's entire being was covered in a gaseous darkness, her glowing eyes and mouth the only parts of her body that weren't covered by darkness.

Jill's mouth slanted. "Hm...that doesn't look good."

"Stop it!" Joy uttered in fear, clutching to Jill. "Don't make her more mad, Callous!"

_**"Oh, it's far too late for you to stop me, now!"**_ Hex laughed, as suddenly, tentacles of darkness erupted from her body, quickly wrapping up both Jill and Joy, hoisting them high up into the air. _**"Now, Callous, you will see the fruits of your hubris! The body of your host, and her daughter, will both be subjected to the most humiliating, painful, and pleasurable experience in their lives! You've brought this on yourself!" **_Then, she smirked. _**"...and this time... you cannot dismiss my beauties."**_

Jill actually frowned on that, and Joy held to her helplessly. "Oh bite me," she grumbled. But she didn't know what to do about Joy; she certainly didn't want her to be subjected to what Hex had to offer.

_**"Now... we'll begin with Joy."**_ Hex chuckled, as she gazed upon the small ewe, another tentacle protruding from her chest. _**"Say farewell to your virginity!"**_

_"Oh, _hell _no!" _Suddenly, Tails Doll sped right at Hex, and slammed into her face, which startled the octopus.

_**"GUH?"**_ she coughed, before she glared at the plushie. _**"Why, you little-"**_ she growled, but by that point, Tails Doll's gem began glowing, shining a brilliant light on Hex's chest, forcing her to cry out in pain.

_"I may be just a doll, but even I know when you're stepping out of line!" _Tails Doll yelled, before he began rapidly slamming into Hex, whilst shining a light on her. And each time he slammed into Hex, he yelled out one word, which was punctuated by him slamming into her. "YOU! DO! NOT! THREATEN! JOY! LIKE! THAT! WHEN! I'M! NEARBY! DO! YOU! GET! IT! YOU! NASTY! FILTHY! OBSCENE! SULTRY! MANIPULATIVE! HORRID! MEAN! OCTOPUS!"

"Well, since I've done as much damage as I could really do," Jill looked to Joy. "...go ahead kid."

Joy looked at Jill questionably.

"...I saw what you did for those guys," Jill said. "And your Daddy told you to be strong, right? I think now's the time to be strong, wouldn't you say?"

Joy alternated glances between Hex being beaten up by Tails Doll, and Jill. Then she nodded, and closed her eyes to concentrate. A green glow covered her and Jill.

Jill only closed her eyes, and tried to help with some Unity. _Cainfield, I'd never imagine you and Jill making a baby with this much power,_ she thought.

_**"Guh... GET LOST!" **_Hex shrieked, as she suddenly smacked Tails Doll away from her, before she looked up at Jill and Joy. _**"...what...?"**_

_"...Jill? Joy...?" _Tails Doll uttered, as he recovered from that blow Hex dealt him.

Both of them reopened their eyes and looked to Hex; both of their eyes illuminating with a green glow. "...you know what else is insulting besides being made fun of for what you're known for?" Jill asked. "...being beaten by a 3 year old."

Then both of them outstretched their hands and aimed a combined, supermassive beam of green energies, aimed right for Hex.

Unable to move out of the way in time, Hex was struck by that beam, forcing her to let out a painful cry. _**"AAAAAGH! IT BURNS! MAKE IT STOP!" **_she screamed in agony.

Since Jill was free, she brought out her blade and set Joy down. "Okay, I'll make it stop," Jill quipped, running at Hex and stabbing her yet again in the place she hit her with the beam; not to mention that she instilled more Unity into that stab.

That elicited yet another shriek of agony from the octopus, who could only look weakly at Jill now. _**"...n-no... I... I don't want to... please... save me..."**_ she pleaded desperately.

Jill's eyes were green, looking at Hex with an unsympathetic look; they had been green since the beam they shot at her. She had plenty of reasons not to save her, and without any need of explanation she could let her really die, but deep down, Jill was the same. She always considered mercy on even the coldest, most malicious opponent.

...but then she remembered what Spiel told her at the tournament.

"...maybe for once, I don't want my nightmares coming back to haunt me," she said. "Have you ever thought of that?" and she stabbed Hex again.

_**"Agh..."**_ Hex could barely speak now, as the darkness around her began withering away. _**"...n-no... I-I don't like this... please... make it..." **_Then, she actually grabbed Jill's blade, weakly pulling it out of her body, before she stumbled backwards. _**"...this... doesn't... feel... good..."**_

Then, she collapsed on the ground, the darkness around her being whisked away by the wind. Soon, they could see her corrupted form lying in the grass, dark goo leaking from her wounds, and her breath rapid. "...I-I can't breathe..." she coughed, dark goo spilling from her mouth as well.

Just as Jill approached Hex, Joy grabbed her hand. "Stop it Mama!" Jill looked down, and instantly her heart was broken to see her little girl crying her heart out. She was crying for this heartless, scandalous woman, of all people...

"...no Mama," Joy sobbed. "Don't kill her..."

Hearing those words, Hex weakly looked towards Joy. "...ack... a-are you..." she coughed, as she began shivering from what seemed to be blood-loss.

Jill didn't know what to do.

"...member what you did for Daddy, Mama?" Joy wept. "...You didn't seed him as a bad person...you made him better..."

That actually brought tears to Jill's eyes. "...Joy...it's...not the same thing..."

"...yes it is Mama..." Joy tried to say, walking over to Hex's body.

"...kkh..." Hex coughed, merely watching Joy. "...I... was going to... abuse you..." she uttered. "...doesn't that... bother you in the slightest? Don't you want to... see me suffer...?"

Joy only sent a white glow to her hands. "...I don't want anybody to feel sad..." she murmured.

"...kkh..." Hex coughed, as she closed her eyes. "...th-that... kind spirit of yours..." she uttered. "...it could... g-get you in trouble... later on..."

Joy knelt down by her, and placed her hands on Hex, ready to do what she was going to do.

Just then, one of Hex's tentacles placed itself on Joy's shoulder.

"_Ah- HEY!" _Tails Doll called. _"You get your-"_

"Please..." Hex croaked, tears actually welling from her eyes. "...y-you... s-stop Diablo... that d-darkness is... frightening..." As she spoke, the tentacle slipped off Joy. "...please... stop him..."

Jill was utterly amazed that Hex had not harmed her daughter, the only one who was willing to show mercy toward her. So she watched Joy concentrate, and soon, a white glow took over Hex.

As the glow passed over her, one could see her skin showing white cracks across her body. Before long, the cracks grew innumerable, and soon enough, her entire body split in two. Like a cocoon, one could see Hex's original body lying within the cracked shell, still breathing heavily, though more relaxed than before.

_"...whoa..."_ Tails Doll uttered in awe.

Jill was so weakened to see this, petrified really, as Joy pulled her hands away and looked down at Hex. "...see Mama..." Joy muttered. "...you didn't hafta kill her..."

"...th-thank... you..." Hex managed to utter, merely looking at Joy with a weak smile. "...you... be careful..." At that point, her eyes closed, as she fell unconscious; the strain of both the Corruption and the battle having taken a lot out of her.

Jill was still frozen when Joy looked up at her. Jill finally released her blade, and it disappeared before it could even drop onto the ground. Then she dropped to her knees and embraced Joy, who wept a little in her mother's shoulder. Even if Jill had prepared her for it, she was still scared with what just happened. Jill could even tell that Joy may have known that she would get hurt, but she saved Hex anyway.

_...strong...just like Brick,_ Jill thought, letting out her tears too.

Tails Doll could only look at the two, before he looked towards the octopus. _...man... that was..._ he thought. _...nice going, Joy._


	22. Chapter 22

_**5 Years Later – Chapter Twenty-Two...**_

"Guh..." Groaning, King got up on his feet, rubbing his head in pain. "Sheesh... who the hell shot us down, anyway?" he murmured, before looking around. "...no sign of anyone... I suppose we've been separated." With a frown, he folded his arms. "...well, no sense in standing around; I oughta find out where the others landed."

Suddenly...a dark fog rolled across the ground.

King blinked upon seeing this fog, looking warily around him. "...who's there?" he called, clenching his hands in case a fight would be brewing.

"...well, well...aren't _you_ the lucky one to run across me?"

From out of the hidden shadows in the trees, someone came out, which happened to be that certain black and white leopard with wings: Diablo.

Seeing him, King's eyes widened. "...you..." he uttered, electricity briefly sparking from his fur. "...Novagod."

"It's been a few years, Twilight..." Diablo murmured, walking around him. "...I'm impressed that you built such a place with you and your comrades."

"...that's King to you, Novagod." King snarled, keeping his eyes on the leopard. "And flattery ain't getting you anywhere."

"Well, I would just have taken you down, but according to Spiel, I'm not allowed to do so," Diablo murmured.

"...Spiel?" King uttered. "...yeah, now that you mention it... Sage said something about you two meeting. But let's cut the crap. Just what the hell do you intend to accomplish?"

"…to prepare the world for the coming of my master…"

Then Diablo brought out two of those dark swords and aimed some slashes toward King.

Quickly, King rolled out of the way of those slashes, before glaring at Diablo. "...what master? I thought you worked alone!" he called, before firing bolts of electricity at the leopard.

"…that's what I wanted you all to think…" Diablo murmured, evading the lightning bolts.

With a growl, King glared at Diablo. "...just who the hell is your master, Novagod?"

"…I wouldn't normally tell anyone this," Diablo answered. "…but in your case, I suppose I can make an exception…" Then he walked toward King menacingly, with those blades raised.

"…my master is Dark Gaia."

Hearing that, King's eyes widened for a brief moment. "...Dark... Gaia?" he uttered.

* * *

"Geez, they just keep comin'!" Newt growled, as he kept firing at more infected. "How many have we torn through, now?"

"I swear, they be multiplyin'!" Whisker called, just as he shot his fist at a couple of infected, sending them flying.

"I guess they could be capable of doing that," Cal murmured, looking over at the rampaging Ani after he stabbed a zombie.

She was still going nuts ever since they unleashed her, senselessly ripping apart whichever zombie that was in her sight.

"…gosh, I never thought she could fight like that," Striker murmured under his breath, firing at a group of zombies that nearly ganged up on him.

After cutting a few infected to ribbons, Natal quickly glanced at the battle around them. "...kkh... how much longer can we hold them?" she murmured.

"As long as we need to!" Wiper called, just as he finished paralyzing some infected, who were shot down by Boomer and Newt.

By the shelter, things didn't look better. The infected came in hordes over there, despite Queen and Ripper keeping them at bay. "Tsch... how many have you cut down, Noon?" Queen uttered breathlessly.

"Countless, Dusk! Kekekekeke!" Ripper cackled; at least he wasn't getting discouraged. However, as he kept cutting down infected, he failed to notice one that was crawling up behind him, raising its claws to cut the mantis down.

"HEY!" All of a sudden, Will leaped out from the shelter, before pounding the infected with his elbow with enough force to send it flying away from Ripper. "No way in hell am I gonna let'cha try a sneak attack!"

"Nice one, Will!" Marco called from the safety of the shelter.

Just then, Tasha got knocked down by a zombie that was bigger than her; the wind knocked out of her.

"Tasha!" Queen called, but before she could go to her aid, she had to knock aside a swathe of infected rushing at her. _Kkh... I won't be able to get to her in time!_

"...I would say that now would be a good time to aid them."

All of a sudden, a stream of blue flames erupted from one of the rooftops, washing over several of the infected. As it was fairly obvious, it caught the attention of several of the fighters. "...that should hold them."

"Well, we can't waste much time! Let's go and help them!" At that point, one of the characters leaped from the roof, right above the larger zombie by Tasha, before suddenly crushing its head within her pincer-like hands. "...need a hand?" Ruki said, as she helped Tasha on her feet.

"Thank you," Tasha replied, letting out a relieved breath. Then she took up her weapon, and started fighting again.

"Are you guys still th-there?" Ed uttered in the walkie-talkie.

"_We're alright,"_ replied Charmy's voice. _"But it looks like they've been multiplying…how are you doing?"_

"Some of Spiel's followers came to help," Seymour cut in, taking a few shots.

Then he witnessed the parrot jump down from the roof of the shelter, and let out a screeching call, which knocked over numerous zombies with their soundwaves.

"Cover yer eyes and ears!" All of a sudden, a pair of spheres flew down from the roof, before they erupted into brilliant flashes of light, which immobilized the infected (and, ironically, the others fighting). "YEAH! I GOT 'EM!"

"...not bad, Maya." Marlo hummed in an disinterested tone. "Phyrra, you stay here with Maya to provide cover. Blitz, Francis, you're with me." With that, the stag leaped from the roof, pulling two of his antlers off to use them as knives, which he skillfully slashed at the infected.

"You heard him." Phyrra mused, as he took out his flask. "Go down and help." Then, taking a swig from it, he moved his lighter to his mouth, before blowing a massive blast of purple fire down at the infected.

Blitz and Francis both followed Marlo off the roof and started putting their muscle to good use against the infected.

* * *

"...guh..." Lock uttered, as he held his head in pain. Only after that, did he realize that his hat was missing, fully exposing his scarred face. "...tsch... I must've dropped it somewhere..." he murmured. "...thankfully, my weapons are still with me..."

"…looking for something, bounty hunter?"

A figure didn't yet bother coming out of the shadows, but it did hold out something for Lock to see; which conveniently was his hat.

"Hm?" Quickly, Lock grabbed his rifle and aimed it at the stranger. "Who is it?"

An ox stepped out, with eyes blazing with black, corrupted energy. "Just me," Raider said with a chuckle.

With a small frown, Lock narrowed his eyes. "...give it back." he said.

"Maybe I will, maybe I won't," Raider said. "Depends if you can swipe it away from me."

"...I'm not in the mood for games." Lock growled. "Give me my hat."

"Fine." Raider simply dropped it onto the ground and dug his foot into it, ruining it. "Come and get it then," he chuckled.

"..very well." Lock uttered in an dripping tone, before he suddenly aimed a shot of his rifle right at Raider's waist.

The shot hit a black barrier that was surrounding the ox, but the blast was actually strong enough to shatter it; though it still left Raider unharmed. "...interesting power, there," he murmured. "Just where did you get it?"

"...I'm not inclined to tell you." Lock spat, before suddenly reaching into his coat, pulling out a revolver, before firing an explosive at the same area he had fired at before. Just as he did that, he broke into a run towards the ox.

With the smoke in the area, Raider was momentarily disoriented, but not enough to keep him from seeing Lock coming. In the middle of it, Raider brought a large object in his hand, and when he swung it in Lock's direction, he saw a big spiked ball almost half as big as the bounty hunter himself head for him.

"Hn?" Quickly, Lock leaped away from Raider, letting the spiked ball slam into the ground where he once stood. _...quick._ he thought, before quickly firing a shot from his revolver at Raider's head, intending for the ensuing explosion to disorient the ox for long enough.

This time, Raider was smart enough to put a black barrier up there, and he picked up a large stick he was holding; revealing that his weapon was a massive flail, oozing with Corruption. Though he swung it blindly at Lock, since the blast blinded him.

Taking advantage of this, Lock quickly ran around the ox, before aiming his rifle at the arm holding the flail. _If I cripple him, I won't have as much trouble_. he thought, before firing a shot of Unity at that arm.

"AGH!" Raider didn't count on that, and that arm popped right off and hit the ground, along with the flail. Looking at it, Raider could see the black goo drip from the stub, and he couldn't even regenerate another arm. Growling, he ran at Lock with a punch covered in Corruption.

"...gotcha." Quickly, Lock ran underneath the punch, running towards where Raider had stood. Quickly, he snatched his hat off the ground where Raider had stomped it, before turning to face the ox. "...and we could've avoided this if you'd simply returned my hat back, like I asked you." he quipped.

Raider only growled again. "...okay, so I get the idea..." he mumbled.

"And now, you've lost an arm." Lock hummed, as he held his hat, trying to fix it as best he could, before placing it on his head. "But I'm still kicking." Then, he began shooting at Raider with his revolver again, intending to knock him back.

Something else appeared in Raider's hand that started deflecting the bullets. "I'll make sure you lose more than that to compensate then!" It turned out to be a gigantic cleaver, which he hurled around with ease with only his one arm, and he lunged at Lock with it.

Lock, however, remained nimble enough to avoid the cleaver with every swing Raider made, as he kept firing at Raider, occasionally digging into his coat to get a gun that still carried ammo.

Raider went with blocking all of Lock's firing, while he continued to try and get him with the cleaver.

It came to a point when Raider swung his cleaver at Lock, that the bounty hunter suddenly slipped underneath the swing, sliding down between the ox's legs, before aiming his rifle up at his remaining arm. "That takes care of that." he hummed, firing a blast of Unity.

Raider let out a cry of pain, leaving nothing but two stubs on him now with the cleaver hitting the ground with a loud thump. Getting on his feet, Lock scoffed. "...were I a clichéd action star, this is the point where I would make a pun." he mused. "But now... you're left without any proper way of fighting me."

Raider glared at him. "...not yet..." then a dark glow amassed around him.

Seeing that, Lock blinked, as he stepped a bit away. "...now what?"

Raider let out a roar, and the entire area filled with a fog of darkness, rendering vision useless. _...so, that's how we'll do things._ Lock thought, glancing around him to try and get used to the dark, in hopes of being able to make something out. _Now what do you plan on doing, without any arms?_

Just then, Lock heard a sound, which was akin to flapping. It was enough to blow away the dark fog, which also revealed Raider.

He had wings sticking out of where his arms used to be, and now his feet had become hand-like claws. Not only that, but his face had now grown 3 times uglier and more terrifying; baring vicious, jagged teeth and blood red eyes.

Raider roared like a beast with hatred, taking off in flight right at Lock to grab him with those claws. Quickly, Lock rolled out of the way, glancing up at Raider_. ...a flying ox. _he thought, as he quickly aimed his rifle at him. _Never thought I'd see that. _Then, he fired a couple of shots to try and bring down out of the sky.

Raider swooped around the shots. _**"Only 3 more shots left!" **_he cackled. _**"Once you run out, you're mine!"**_

"...tsch..." Lock scoffed. _...if I could only bring him down without wasting shots... pity that the others are using my spare cartridges... _he thought... until he spotted movement from the jungle. _...hn?_

All of a sudden, something leaped up in the air from the wilderness, reaching up behind Raider, before aiming a pair of slashes at his wings. Raider was so shocked by this that his wings were lopped off easily, and he crashed onto the ground. _**"WHAT?" **_he bellowed in shock.

Before he could get off the ground, the one who had cut him out of the sky landed on him, before he impaled the ox with a pair of swords, to pin him down.

"...you..." Lock hummed curiously. "...why are you helping me out?"

"...these infectees have become a problem." the stranger hummed; as it turned out, it was Krieg, who looked towards where he heard Lock. "Spiel wishes them to be gone."

While these simple swords didn't give Raider so much pain, he was annoyed to find that he couldn't move from where Krieg pinned him down; no matter how much he struggled.

"...hm..." Lock hummed, as he slowly walked towards Raider, looking down at him. "...you know, until Krieg showed up, I had a hard time figuring out how to take you out... and now, it's as simple as aiming Lone Wolf and pulling the trigger. That transformation didn't do you much good, did it?" he hummed.

Raider looked up at Lock in fear. _**"...don't...please!" **_he uttered desperately.

"...give me a good reason for why I shouldn't." Lock said coldly, lifting the brim of his hat so Raider could see the bounty hunter's own eyes, fearlessly glaring at the trapped ox. "Go on."

_**"I-I don't even remember all the things I'm accused of doing,"**_ Raider uttered. "_**And this...this darkness! It's more horrible than anything that vile octopus ever did to me!"**_

Lock was silent, still merely glaring down at Raider.

_**"And what I was doing; that was the dark powers talking!"**_ Raider finished. _**"It's scary! It makes you act like somebody you're not!"**_ Then the demon ox shut his eyes. _**"Just put me out of my misery! Shoot me!"**_

Again, Lock remained silent, before he lowered the brim of his hat. "...how odd." Lock hummed after a short while. "...first you beg me not to shoot you... and now you beg to be shot." As he spoke, he trained his rifle on the ox. "...do you want to live... or die?"

_**"Anytime I stay alive, I only suffer for something else..." **_Raider uttered, keeping his eyes closed to brace for it. _**"...shoot me! Let me die, please!"**_

Lock kept silent, not moving his rifle whatsoever as he aimed it at Raider.

However, when it seemed like he would shoot the ox, he lifted the rifle so it aimed away from him. "...no." he said coldly. "I'll grant you mercy." Then, he gave Krieg a nod, signaling him to pull the swords out of Raider, stepping off him.

_**"...w-what?"**_ Raider uttered, opening his eyes when the swords were pulled out of him.

"...I know of someone who can purify the darkness that binds you." Lock uttered, as he turned around and began walking away. "If the darkness really is forcing you to do things against your will... then you can subdue the darkness, until she can purify you."

Raider only watched Lock leave in disbelief. Then his head hit the ground, while he stared up at the rain hitting his face, dead silent.

Krieg, once he sheathed his swords, ran after Lock. "...what do you think he'll do?" he hummed.

"...we'll see." Lock replied.

Raider looked back at them then. They showed mercy to him, that easily? All this time, no one was really willing to do that, and at a time like this, he was LESS likely to get a second chance because of what he was turned into.

Slowly, he tried to get up despite the fact he had no arms OR wings.

...but then he turned around and started going the opposite way Lock and Krieg had gone.

* * *

"...the hell is that supposed to mean?" King uttered, still looking at Diablo in disbelief. "You've been serving Dark Gaia all this time?"

"...I have never done anything for my own gain after all..." Diablo answered. "I only acted for what would be appropriate...for my master's return." Diablo raised both swords, and when he threw them down, it created a powerful wave of Corruption heading right for King.

With a snarl, King brought up a barrier of electricity, which shielded the tiger from that blow, but he was still pushed back a bit. "...so everything you've done... all those horrid things you did five years ago, and years earlier than that... was all so you could try bringing out Dark Gaia?"

"It wasn't in an effort to draw him out," Diablo replied. "...it was an effort to taint those who may have had the power to stop him, to weaken them so they couldn't stop my master..." Finally, Diablo just waved a hand. Shadows on the ground popped out and stood before King.

"...grab him," Diablo commanded, and immediately they did so, holding King in place.

"Agh!" King growled, as he struggled to break loose. "Kkh... do you even know how to bring him out?" he yelled. "How can you be so damn certain that you haven't just been wasting your goddamn time?"

"I've been spending many...many years, developing a summoning spell that could possibly shatter the earth's surface, and bring him out," Diablo said, walking toward King. "But I had to make sure there would be no one in my way first...so yes, I wasted my time to try and get rid of all of you; primarily, Jillian, and now...it's little Joy."

"...but we're gonna stop you." King growled. "We stopped you five years ago, so we can damn well stop you again!" he roared.

"Keep telling yourself that when you've become my minion," Diablo said, gathering up some Corruption in his hand, about to throw a jab toward King's stomach.

Before he could do that, someone grabbed Diablo's arm in a powerful hold. "...ah-ah-ah... I told you not to." In that instant, a fist connected directly into Diablo's face, sending him flying away from King.

Then Diablo stopped on his feet, and looked toward who punched him.

"...so you never had an agenda for yourself." the one who punched him growled. "All this time, you just did those things to bring some sealed force out from within the earth..." At that point, an aura exploded around him, actually wiping away the shadows keeping King in place.

King, coincidentally, could only look at his savior with a baffled look. "...eh...?"

"...if there's one thing I hate more than anything..." Spiel uttered, as he cracked his knuckles together. "...it's someone who squanders perfectly good potential so willingly!"

"Is that what you think?" Diablo grumbled, folding his arms.

"King." Spiel uttered, not even bothering to respond to Diablo. "How about we smoke this pompous bastard?"

"...working with you?" King uttered, before he cracked his neck, electricity sparking off his fur, as both the tiger and the pig glared at the leopard. "Against him... I guess I can stoop to that level."

Diablo frowned, bringing up his swords. "I'm more powerful than I was 5 years ago," he growled. "You can't possibly have a chance."

"...heh. We don't stand a chance?" both of them chuckled, as the ground beneath them began to quake. Instantly, two auras exploded around them; the crimson aura around Spiel, and a massive, blue, electric aura from King.

"Obviously, this guy has no idea..." Spiel chuckled, as he raised his leg.

"...of the power that Safe Haven soldiers possess!" King added, as he raised his own leg, before he and Spiel slammed them down into the ground at the same time, causing a tremor so powerful that a wave of earth and lightning was sent rocketing at Diablo.

Diablo crossed his blades, building so much Corruption that when the waves would hit him, a tremendous wall of Corruption stopped both of the massive waves in their tracks. When the clashing forces canceled out, Diablo gave them a murderous glare.

"...I wasted nearly 65 years...tonight, I assure you, will be the end of everything."

* * *

Things were looking bleak on the battlefield.

A majority of those at the shop had run out of ammo a long time ago, and the rest were on their way there; with the infected pushing on farther and farther. Ani, even as a nearly invincible were-wolf, was pretty much out of steam, only managing to push away the infected with little luck, since more crowded around her and started trying to attack her. With hardly any strength to fight back, Ani was forced to retreat within the barrier, into the shop, where she finally collapsed and reverted back to her normal, ragged self.

Seeing Ani lying on the floor of the shop like that, Charmy looked back out there uneasily. "...should we retreat into the boundaries of Jill's barrier?"

"...it seems that we have no choice." Tails murmured.

"...alright, pardon me, but I've let you guys have your fun for a little too long." Sage finally said, as she walked out in front of the shop, managing to pull everyone who was absolutely out of breath behind her, before she eyed the advancing hordes. "...this won't kill them... but it'll keep them at bay for a while!" Once she yelled that, a massive psychic wave flowed out at the infected, pushing them back.

A lot of them went back a long ways. At first, it looked pretty powerful, but they only got back up again and returned to pushing the boundaries.

"Hm!" As her eyes began glowing, Sage unleashed another psychic wave to blow the infected away.

"...Sage, this is too dangerous." Wiper uttered. "Head into the barrier."

"I'll be fine." Sage hummed, before glancing back at the group with a smile. "Am I not a soldier of Safe Haven?"

"...but..." Striker took a minute to catch his breath. "...but they just keep coming Sage..."

His words were just as true, for the zombies persisted on their limits yet again.

"I can keep them." Sage called, as she began approaching the incoming hordes, unleashing another psychic wave.

"Don't be a fool!" Natal called, though her words fell on deaf ears.

By now, the zombies that were knocked over were trampled by the rows of those behind them, whom lunged for Sage.

Still, Sage kept sending psychic waves to knock the infected backwards, making sure to keep them as far from the shop as she could. _...how much longer can I make them fly before I have to stop?_ she thought.

That question went unanswered for Sage, for they just kept coming and coming and coming. Since Sage wasn't using any Unity, any zombies she tore apart either regenerated back, or the split body parts became a number of new zombies to push after her.

"Sage!" called out Boomer worriedly.

Gritting her teeth, Sage focused on sending out wave after wave at the incoming waves of infected, feeling the strain it took on her mind. _...just stop coming..._

"Sage!" Newt called out with increased worry.

"Get out of there!" cried Striker.

Stretching her wings out, Sage let out a cry, as a psychic barrage of shots were fired at the hordes of zombies, tearing through them as best they could. A good portion of them were taken down, but just when it seemed like Sage would get a break, the zombies rapidly crowded around her yet again, reaching out at her to grab her.

Quickly, Sage let out another cry, before a shockwave of psychic energy flowed from her, pushing away the infected around her. However, once she did that, she collapsed to the ground, heaving for breath. _...this is tearing on my mind..._

"NO! SAGE!" Hunter bellowed.

But before the zombies preyed upon her, they all stopped. This utterly confused everyone, until they noticed the infected looking off in one direction.

"...hey...look..." Milo uttered, pointing off outside. One by one, they all looked, and grew even more bewildered.

Up the road, everyone could see the silhouette of a figure standing there. It was far away, and in the dark, there was no possible way to determine who or what it was. This figure was simply looking at everything going on, remaining perfectly calm.

The infected were reacting to this silhouette too, hissing and growling at him. They even started migrating from the shop toward this figure, and away from Sage. It gave Charmy an opportunity to fly out, grab her, and pull her into the safety of Jill's barrier, inside the shop.

"...aah..." Sage uttered, as she looked towards the silhouette. "...who on earth...?"

"...Milo, can you tell who it is?" When Milo didn't answer, Cal looked over at the lion...who was shocked and petrified. "...Milo?"

Something started happening with the silhouette; a small golden ring started to glow, which was on the face of the figure standing out there.

In fact...it was a nose ring.

And that golden glow oozed with energy, showing a face.

But before they could get a good long look, all of the infected pounced on this figure. Even if the silhouette was buried by the infected, the fact that they had seen that face was enough to render everyone completely silent.

Suddenly, something golden exploded underneath the pile of infected zombies, sending them high up into the air. Underneath stood a large beastly bull made out of golden energy, snorting at all of the zombies. When they tried to rush at it, the bull used its long horns to shovel them away. It charged through the crowd, trampling the zombies underneath it's golden hooves. Then it whipped around the horns, hurling away some more of the zombies.

It left them speechless, watching how much this bull of golden energy was doing, and how successful it was keeping back the zombies; especially away from the shop. That wasn't the only reason they were unable to say anything though; it was mostly because they recognized this bull, but it wasn't usually golden.

In a single spin, the golden bull changed. While it was still a bull, it stood on two feet rather than four hooves. A ponytail of brick-red hair stuck out the back, and though long bangs and a mustache almost concealed the face, the nose ring and the horns were still a give away.

"...oh...my...god," Boomer uttered; eyes wide as melons.

"...no...way..." Rudy stammered.

"...ye... can't be serious..." Whisker uttered, as he dropped down in a sitting position.

"...my goodness." Sage uttered, appearing to be neutral about the situation, despite being as blown away as the others. "...I... didn't expect this."

"...is it really...?" Tails uttered in absolute shock upon seeing this.

The bull outside threw his hands around, shooting golden waves of energy that beheaded and sliced zombies to bits. This time, when the bull cut them up, they didn't seem to regenerate or multiply. Angrily, the infected kept rushing at him, but the bull only chopped them up.

"...who..." Sonia uttered, as she glanced at the others, noting their shocked expressions. "...I know I'm not up-to-date, but... do you know him?"

"...oh, we know him." Wiper nodded. "...and right now... it's a good thing he's here."

"...but...he shouldn't be here," Rudy uttered. "...he's dead!"

"...being dead still wouldn't stop him," Milo remarked. "...we all should know that by now."

The infected were gathering for the final rush, in a desperate attempt to get rid of whoever this is. The bull, however, only closed his eyes, and more golden energy started to build up around himself.

"...but... who is he?" Sonia uttered.

"...he is a very close friend of ours, Sonia..." Tails hummed, as he actually managed a small smile.

Hearing that, Sonia looked towards the old fox. "...what's his name?" she asked, which made Tails look towards her, replying with only two words...

"...Brick Cainfield."

Seeing the bull create an aura of golden energy like that, the infected actually stepped away a bit in fear.

"...CHAOS BLAST!"

The golden aura burst, and a huge spherical wave of golden energy shot out, destroying many of the infected. Of course, the golden energy simply bounced off Jill's barrier, leaving those in the shop unharmed, while the blast damaged a good deal of the buildings in town.

Seeing that, Sage sighed. "We're gonna have to have those repaired after this is over..." she murmured, before looking back towards the bull.

The bull was observing the damage he had done. Almost all of the infected were now cut into a minimal of three pieces, lying on the cold, empty battlefield. One or two still remained, but they were weakly limping toward this bull, who stood and watched them come. When they raised a hand, the bull hit them with more golden energy, and they were gone.

Now...the only sound that could be heard was the distant thunder of the storm, and the moaning wind.

"...he creamed all of them," Striker uttered.

"...that, he did..." Tails nodded.

"...so, in the end, we didn't do much, compared to him." Sage hummed, before chuckling. "Way to make us feel insignificant, cowboy..."

"...right now..." Wiper mused, before he smiled. "...I can live with feeling insignificant."

The bull just stood there awhile, until he sent a glance in their direction. Then he started walking away.

"Brick!" Milo cried, running out to him. "Wait!"

That actually stopped the bull, allowing Milo to get to him. The others remained, unsure on whether or not to follow Milo.

Milo stared at the bull that kept his back to him. "...Brick..." he uttered, walking toward him with a hand.

That is, until the bull took the hand, stopping Milo.

"...keep them inside," he said. "...stay safe...if the others need reinforcements, then go if you have to..." he let Milo's hand go, and started walking away again, disappearing into the jungle.

Milo watched in disdain. "...Brick..."

Watching Brick leave, Sage frowned a little. _...what do you intend to do... Cainfield?_

_

* * *

_

"Gruah..." Coughing, Charon held his chest in pain. Whatever had shot him down felt a lot more painful than he'd have imagined, and he had trouble getting back on his feet for that. Not to mention, he couldn't see Jack or Jane anywhere. ...whoever did that...

"...Charon!" At that point, the dragon saw someone running towards him, and it didn't take him long to realize that it was Jack, who seemed quite flustered. "Man, am I glad to see you... I can't find anyone anywhere!"

"...not even Jane...?" Charon uttered. "...that's-"

"Too bad." they heard a small girl giggle. "I only found two. I wun be able to kill evryone now..."

Hearing that voice, both Jack and Charon looked around them in worry. "...who's there?" Charon growled.

Elsewhere, but not too far off, Jane was pulling herself off of the ground. It hurt falling like that; something she hadn't felt in a long time. While she was dragging herself off the ground, she could feel someone watching her.

While people would normally be alerted, she recognized this presence.

"…Mr. Cainfield?" she murmured, looking to where she felt the presence.

Sure enough, a transparent brick-red bull walked out, with a frown under his mustache. "…is that you, Jane?"

She nodded. "…Deity took Oblivion's soul…so I..."

"…I see," Brick replied gruffly.

Walking out from the darkness of the trees was Kiri, tilting her head with a gleeful smile. "I found a lion and de monstow! Big Bwoddew's gon' be happy when I cowwupt the monstow!"

"...is that Kiri?" Jack uttered. "...she looks... different."

"...she's been infected..." Charon growled. "...Jack, stand back. I'll take care of her."

"Wait, wait!" Jack said, quickly running in front of Charon. "She could infect you, too!"

"...but I won't let you endanger yourself in facing her, Jack..." Charon said, looking down at him.

This time, Jack kept silent, looking away from Charon. "...don't worry." he eventually said, before turning to Kiri with a colder gaze. "I can take care of myself."

Seeing Jack ready to fight her, Kiri cackled gleefully, wiping away some of her dark-red tears. "I'm gon' makes you bleed!"

With a scoff, Jack folded his arms. "...come and try it."

"…Mr. Cainfield," Jane began. "…that woman…" Jane remembered looking at her when they were flying on Charon's back earlier, all before the battles broke out. "…is she someone you know really well?"

Brick turned away from her, letting the shade of his bangs hide his eyes. "…yes…" he murmured.

"…and her daughter?" Jane continued, stepping toward the bull.

Brick only remained silent.

Jane only wanted to know, though she could tell she was trailing on a touchy subject, for it being so personal. This man never told her anything; even after they rescued Jill from the wolves all those years ago.

"Heeeere, kitty kitty kitty!" Kiri laughed madly, rushing at Jack to try and cut him down with her bladed fingers. However, rather than roll out of the way, or even try to attack the owl, Jack merely walked backwards every time Kiri slashed at him, looking impassively down at the owl. "Imma gon' kill you... 'fore yous can kill meh!"

"...well, you're doing a lousy job at it." Jack replied coldly, still only stepping away from Kiri's slashes, her giggling sobs the only sound cutting through the air.

"…Mr. Cainfield, this might be inappropriate of me," Jane murmured. "…but are you…the father?"

"…shouldn't you go find your friends?" Brick asked bitterly.

Jane stared at him a bit longer.

"C'mon! Die, die, die, die, die!" Kiri cackled, her claws glistening with darkness, as she prepared to gut Jack with them.

However, before she could hit her target, the lion simply grabbed her wrist, keeping her in place. "...is that really all Corruption did for ya?" he chuckled, which surprised both Kiri and Charon.

"...Jack?" the dragon uttered, tilting his head a bit. "...something's wrong..."

"...unh?" Kiri uttered as well, trying to pry out of Jack's grip. "Lemme go!"

"Oh, I'll let you go..." Jack hummed, using his free hand to bring out his harmonica. "...once I've shown you my newest song." Then, using only one hand, Jack began playing a storm with the instrument, allowing a massive, fiery, red lion to emerge from his back, clutching both a broadsword and a rifle.

Looking up at this, Kiri's eyes were as wide as melons. "...h-huge..." she uttered.

Both Brick and Jane flinched, looking off somewhere.

"...did you feel that?" she uttered.

"...yeah, I did," Brick replied. "...we'd better check it out." And both of them started off in that direction.

Even in her maddened state, Kiri tried getting away from Jack in fright. "...lemme go! I dun wanna talks to Mistow Buwning Lion!"

Jack, however, failed to even listen to the girl's pleas, as the massive lion swung its broadsword right at Kiri, sending her flying in one direction. _"How's it feel?"_ it laughed, before firing several shots of dark fire right at the small owl, who barely had time to roll away from them.

As this went on, Charon could only watch with wide eyes. "...since when... could you do that... Jack...?" he uttered.

A rustling of the bushes produced two figures into the battlefield. One was Jane, who was utterly shocked to see this sight. "Jack?"

"...no...that ain't Jack," grumbled the other; a transparent bull.

However, neither Kiri nor 'Jack' noticed the two entering the field of battle, as the former was too busy desperately avoiding the massive sword the fiery lion swung around, and the latter was playing his harmonica like he was possessed, letting said lion do the work for him.

Charon, however, noticed the two. "...Jane..." he uttered, making his way towards the two of them. "...who is he?" he inquired, as he laid eyes on Brick.

"...just call me Mr. Cainfield..." Brick murmured. Then he looked back over on the battlefield. "...as I said before, that ain't Jack. He's bein' possessed by his uncle, Johnny."

"...Johnny...?" Charon uttered, before looking back at the battle, seeing that Kiri was starting to run out of steam. "...is this a good thing... or a bad thing...?"

"...that depends on what his goals are," Brick murmured. "...see, he wasn't a nice guy when he was alive, his uncle Johnny. He tried killin' people."

Jane's eyes widened. "...what?"

"...he tried that?" Charon uttered, looking at the fight. "...but he's only fighting Kiri... at least he's not directing an assault towards us..."

At that point, Kiri tripped, and fell on her back, looking up at the fiery lion with a panicked, yet still gleeful look. "...dey comes to kills meh... dey comes to kills meh..." she repeated incessantly.

_"Prepare to die!"_ the lion roared, as it raised its broadsword high, red energy gathering dangerously up within it.

"...I can't watch," Jane gasped, turning away and shutting her eyes.

Brick, meanwhile, kept watching.

At that point, with a massive roar, the lion swung the massive sword downward, ready to wipe out Kiri...

...however, the blade suddenly stopped. _"...hn?"_

"...Johnny..." Charon growled, as he had grabbed the sword with one of his heads, standing between both the lion and the owl, who could only look up at this in shock. "...this isn't the way to do it."

_"...don't be a fool, Charon!"_ the fiery lion snarled, pushing against Charon. _"Do you want that kid to roam free and infect others? And even uninfected, she's a hellspawn. She'd probably settle for gutting you and Oblivion in your sleep, if she got the chance!"_

"...still..." Charon growled, though really, he didn't have a good reason to keep Johnny from dealing the final blow... apart from wanting to spare Jane the sight.

Jane looked in surprise and relief, while Brick just watched indifferently.

_"...Charon, don't be an idiot."_ the fiery lion snarled. _"Get out of my way."_

"...no." Charon uttered in a resolute tone.

_"...tsch..."_ the lion growled. _"...you're getting on my nerves, buddy. Move out of the-"_

"YAAAH!" All of a sudden, in a flash of darkness, one couldn't see either Jane or Kiri stand where they stood. Turning their heads, the guys saw that Kiri somehow had grabbed Jane, and now stood a good distance away from them, dark blades pointed right at Jane's neck. "Anyone moves, and Imma cowwupt Obli'vn!" she warned.

"JANE!" Charon yelled upon seeing that, which allowed the fiery lion to break away from the dragon.

_"...tsch... I warned you."_ it scoffed, before looking back at the two.

Brick only looked at Kiri. "Well now...you look a little young to be using that kind of power..." he murmured.

"...what do you cawe...?" Kiri uttered, moving the blades closer to Jane's throat. "...to Big Bwoddew, Imma big giwl... I can't be killed... but I can kills yous! And infects yous! And Imma start with her!"

Jane winced, since the blades barely touched her neck.

Brick shook his head. "...you can't kill me either, munchkin...I'm already dead."

"...but Imma infects her now..." Kiri giggled. "...here we-"

"WAIT!" Charon suddenly roared, glaring at the two of them. "...let her go."

"...why should I?" Kiri giggled, looking back at Charon.

"...just let her go..." Charon uttered. "...and... you can try infecting me."

Hearing that, Johnny winced. _"YOU IDIOT! That's exactly what she wants!"_

"...even so..." Charon uttered. "...I won't let either of them succumb..." he added, before looking back at Kiri. "...so... what do you say?"

"...I say..." Kiri hummed, before grinning wildly, throwing Jane to the side. "...that's good! Imma infects yous fow Big Bwoddew!"

Brick ran over to Jane's side, making sure she was okay. A neck without a scar was an indication that she was alright, but then Brick glanced back over to watch Kiri approach Charon.

With giggling glee, Kiri licked her bladed fingers, as they flared with darkness. "Imma makes yous mah new pet!" she called, before she leaped towards Charon.

Charon, however, merely watched Kiri sail towards him with a neutral look, waiting for her to reach him. _...it's up to you now... Jill._

"STOP!" All of a sudden, when it looked like Kiri would have gutted Charon, someone suddenly got in her way.

This, naturally, surprised Kiri. "...you?"

As it turned out, Jack stood in her way, holding her bladed fingers at bay with his harmonica. "...I'm not gonna let you harm my friend!" he called. However, unbeknownst to him, what held Kiri back wasn't his harmonica, but the fiery lion behind him, which he absolutely failed to notice. Also, it slowly changed from a red color, into a pink one.

_"...guh... I can't move on my own...!" _the fiery lion uttered. "...impossible... he snatched my control from me!"

"...well now..." Brick murmured under his breath, so he wasn't heard.

Jane looked at this in awe.

"...uh..." Kiri uttered, looking at Jack in surprise. "...awe yous gon' try an' kills me again?"

"...kill you again?" Jack uttered, tilting his head. "...what are you talking about? I don't want to kill you; that's a horrible thing to do!"

"...you..." Quickly, Kiri leaped away from Jack, simply looking at him. "...but... you twied killin' me just now... with the scawy fiwe lion!"

"...fire... lion?" Jack uttered cluelessly. "...are you sure you're not seeing things?"

"...he's... not even noticing it?" Charon was practically speechless about that.

"...how...strange..." Jane uttered.

"...why..." Kiri uttered, merely looking at Jack in astonishment. "...why don't you hates meh?"

"...I don't wanna hate you." Jack shrugged. "The Corruption's making you do these things, aren't they?"

"...b-but... I twied killin' Joy! And Metal Sonic!" Kiri said desperately. "You should have lotso' reasons to wanna hate meh! To wanna kill meh!"

"...but... I don't want to do either of those things." Jack said with a hint of pity in his tone.

Hearing that, Kiri's eyes widened. "...you..."

"...but I do."

Before Kiri knew it, a foot planted into her face, making her fly a few feet away.

"AAH!" Kiri cried, crashing into the ground, before she looked towards the one who kicked her. "...owie..."

"Ah... BRICK?" Jack cried in surprise. "Wha- how'd you- but how... eh?" he sputtered.

Brick only ignored Jack's reaction, cracking his knuckles and growling at the little corrupted owl. "You want someone to hate you for what you did?" he snarled. "Well here you go! You've got one guy that hates you!"

Jane, meanwhile, glanced over at Jack. "...you know him?" she asked.

"Ah- I do!" Jack nodded. "He's Brick! I told Charon and Oblivion about him!"

"...so that's..." Charon uttered, before he looked over at Brick and Kiri.

Kiri could only blink at Brick. "...but... I dunno who yous is... why do yous hate meh?"

"...because not only did you try to hurt my little girl," he growled, approaching her. "You used that against Brownie..." A small mist started appearing around Brick the closer he got to her, staring down the owl with hate.

"...B-Bwownie?" Kiri uttered, stepping fearfully away from Brick. "...wh-who's dat?"

"...well, use your head, kid," Brick continued. "Who did you decide to use my little Joy against?"

"...J-Jill?" Kiri uttered. "...b-but... I thought that she and Metal..."

Brick now became a cloud of fog, just inches away from her now. "Well guess what? Joy had a daddy before Metal, and that would be me!" Then he snared up the owl, and though it didn't appear like it did anything, it was far from it.

Just then, they heard horrific screams of pain coming from the cloud of fog, all of them obviously from Kiri. It was drawn-out to the point where Charon had to help cover Jack's ears, just so he wouldn't get traumatized from this. It also terrified Jane.

"...how...could anyone hurt a child...like that?" she uttered in fright.

Charon simply looked towards the cloud with a concerned look, growling a little.

Finally, the cloud just dropped the owl back onto the ground, with Brick returning to his transparent self, looking down at her.

To say that Kiri was an absolute mess was an understatement. She lied in a broken heap on the ground, twitching from time to time, as several deep gashes across her body leaked black goo. This time, she was primarily sobbing, a few neurotic giggles slipping through sporadically.

The sight of this made Charon wince, who quickly covered Jack's eyes from seeing that. "...brutal..." he uttered.

Brick kept looking down at Kiri. What he did...it didn't soothe his anger toward her one bit; it didn't fix the hatred he felt for what she and Diablo did to the two most important people to him. He realized that very slowly, and despite all the bad things Kiri did, it still felt wrong.

He had just beaten up a little girl.

"...I shouldn't even be here," he uttered, eventually turning from Kiri, and walking.

"...why..." Kiri suddenly uttered, as she slowly made her way up to her feet. "...why... awe... you... so... cwuel...?"

"...hn?" Looking back at Kiri, he could see that a lot of darkness began swirling around her. "...Brick! Something's happening to her!"

"...I... dun... want... you... to... be... so..." Kiri uttered, her tone growing more and more demonic, the darkness whirling around her rapidly, her eyes suddenly shooting open. "...CRUEL!" In that instant, the dark exploded around her, knocking everyone away from her, and engulfing her.

"What's going on?" Jane uttered nervously.

After the blast hit him, Brick quickly looked back in shock.

The dark whirled around in a massive twister, which slowly began diminishing. Once it faded away, everyone saw someone standing where Kiri had once stood... but it didn't seem to be her at first.

For one thing, this wasn't a six-year old girl, but a grown woman. However, the pieces seemed to fall together more smoothly the more one looked at this woman. She was an owl, her fingers, like Kiri's, were bladed, and the dress she wore was identical to the one the small owl had been wearing. Slowly, she opened her eyes, and looked right at Brick.

Brick stood up and looked back at this woman with a frown.

"...Mr. Cainfield...be careful," Jane warned uneasily.

The woman remained silent, as she slowly raised her arm, still glaring at Brick. "...die." she uttered.

In that instant, her bladed fingers suddenly extended forward with immense speed, stopping directly in front of Jane within seconds. This, however, let her see that the fingers were now dripping with transparent blood.

The blades had passed right through Brick... and cut him.

Jane trembled, not only seeing how close the blade was to her, but because Brick was a spirit; he wasn't supposed to be harmed or be able to shed blood.

Yet he was bleeding, and he was collapsing with a surprised groan.

With an impassive hum, the bladed fingers retracted back to their owner, as she watched Brick collapse. "...serves you right." she uttered, before licking the blood on her fingers.

"...unbelievable..." Charon uttered at this sight, as the woman merely walked towards Brick, looking down at him.

Brick looked up without fear, even in the situation at hand. "...damn it..." he mumbled. "...why couldn't you and your 'Big Brother' have just left them alone, huh?"

"...because I wanted to play with the witch." the woman uttered, slowly pointing her hand down at Brick. "...but I don't need to play with her anymore... and I don't want to hear you speak, either. So, die."

From nowhere, a wave of dark green energy shot through, immediately chopping off the hand that Kiri pointed at Brick.

Blinking, Kiri looked back at where that wave came from.

Walking out with that golden blade pointed in Kiri's direction, Jill shot her quite the harsh glare.

Jane's eyes widened. So did Brick's; especially when he noticed that Joy was following behind Jill cautiously.

And then the 3 year old noticed the injured spirit on the ground with curiosity.

"...Jill... Joy..." Charon uttered, letting go of Jack in that instant.

"...whuh...?" was all Jack could really say at this point.

With a small frown, Kiri simply picked up the severed hand, placing it on the stump of her arm. Then, using a dark flame from her blades, she simply welded the hand back in place. "...don't interfere!" she yelled, before suddenly sending her bladed fingers rocketing at Jill.

Jill blocked the fingers without any effort, still giving Kiri a murderous glare. _**"...step...away...from him," **_she growled with such an unreal tone.

"...no." Kiri uttered in a resolute tone. "I don't take orders from anyone." As darkness flared from her blades, she began rapidly jutting them forward at Jill, to try and catch her off-guard. Jill kept such focus it was scary, and she deflected each attack Kiri threw at her, getting closer and closer to the owl while doing so. Still, Kiri stood her ground, still attacking Jill rapidly.

Watching Jill gain ground like that, Brick crawled a way just a bit to stay out of the way...but he was still silent and frozen besides that.

Jill didn't dare look at Brick for one instant; probably because the moment she did, she knew that she'd lose focus. When she was close enough to Kiri, Jill jabbed one of her hands toward Kiri's gut; a blow covered in Unity for extra measure.

In spite of being punched directly with Unity, however, Kiri didn't budge. True, she flinched, but she held her ground. "...I'm not scared." she uttered.

Peeking out from behind Joy, Tails Doll saw this with wide eyes.

However, that proved to be a mistake, as Kiri spotted him. "...you... you turned me into a wreck..." she uttered, before suddenly shoving Jill out of the way. "...you die, too." she added, before slashing her hand, her blades extending to the point where they would've certainly chopped off not only Tails Doll's head, but Joy's as well...

...however, their heads were not the ones that rolled. Instead, three black, massive heads struck the ground in their place.

"...wha..." Jack uttered, quickly looking behind him, to see that Charon was gone. When he looked back at the scene, he saw that Charon had gotten between Joy and Kiri in the nick of time; however, the owl had managed to fully decapitate the dragon, who managed to stand up for a few moments, before collapsing.

"...Ch-Charon...?" Joy was terrified at what happened.

"CHARON!" Jane was NOT happy about that; she went running for the body of the hydra/dragon hybrid.

"...Ch-Charon..." Jack uttered, sinking to his knees at the sight of that.

"...he... he..." Tails Doll whimpered, on the verge of crying.

"...hm." Kiri scoffed, before she raised her arm, looking at Jill. "I'll deal with the plushie later... but now, you can join the monster."

"...I already died once...and I'm not dying again," Jill gripped the hilt of her sword stubbornly, giving Kiri another one of those glares of hatred for what she just did. "And certainly not by your hands..."

"...would you prefer dying by Diablo's hands, then?" Kiri uttered. "Either way... you'll die."

"...don't... count on that..."

That booming voice caught Kiri's attention, making her look towards Charon's body, which was actually standing up. "...hn?"

"...she... will not... perish..." At that point, erupting from Charon's body were nine heads, each of them glaring at Kiri. "...and no one else... will!" Just then, all of the heads spewed out fire from their mouths, creating a massive fireball which rocketed at Kiri.

"What?" Unable to react in time, the fireball slammed into Kiri, sending her hurling towards the edge of the woods, where the fireball burst into an powerful explosion.

Jane was so utterly relieved that Charon was not dead, but her reaction was so delayed that she just sat there.

"...huh...good going," Brick murmured. Hearing his voice was tempting Jill to look at him, but she didn't look. Kiri was still out there, and she was coming back; she had to be on her toes.

Once the explosion died out, sure enough, Kiri stumbled towards them, clutching her chest. "...I'm not afraid..." she uttered, shooting glares at everyone present. "...I'm not afraid... I'm not afraid..." she repeated, slowly stumbling towards them.

Jill walked on up to her. "It doesn't matter if you're afraid or not," she growled. "That won't help you." Then she thrust her blade to stab Kiri.

However, before it reached her, Kiri actually grabbed the blade. Even as one could see that her hand was getting burned from this, she didn't let go, merely glaring at Jill. "...I'm not afraid... I'm not afraid... I'm not afraid..." It became more or less a chant for her at this point.

Since Kiri held to her blade, Jill used a hand to punch her.

Kiri took the punch, but still showed no sign of either backing down, or letting go of the blade. "...I'm not afraid... I'm not afraid... I'm not afraid..."

"...stop it..." that was really getting on Jill's nerves, and while she tried to pry the blade away from Kiri, she threw more punches and even slaps to try to help.

However, even with so many punches and slaps against her, Kiri didn't let go of the blade, as she slowly clenched her free hand. "...I'm not afraid, I'm not afraid, I'm not afraid, I'm not afraid, I'm not afraid..."

Jill grit her teeth, and held a hand at Kiri's face. Unity energy started building up in it.

"I'm not afraid, I'm not afraid, I'm not afraid, I'm not afraid, I'm not afraid, I'm not afraid, I'm not afraid, I'm not afraid, I'm not afraid..." Kiri still uttered, as she slowly raised her free arm, ready to impale Jill with her bladed fingers at any moment's notice. "I'M NOT AFRAID!"

Before she could attack Jill, however, someone suddenly took hold of her wrist, and pulled her away from the ewe, forcing her to let go of the golden sword. "...that's... enough, already." Hearing that voice, Kiri glanced towards the one who had pulled him away.

Jack.

Jill stopped building energy and let her hand drop, stepping back a bit.

"...let go of me." Kiri uttered, trying to break free from Jack's grip, but that didn't help her at all. "...I told you to let go of me."

"...why... are you scared?" Jack uttered, as he looked at Kiri with a pitiful look.

"...I'm not afraid." Kiri repeated, suddenly shooting Jack a glare. "Didn't you hear me? I told you that I'm not afraid!"

"...then why do you keep telling us?" Jack inquired. "If you really weren't scared... you shouldn't have to keep telling us that you aren't scared."

Kiri's eyes widened at that, as she stopped struggling, merely looking at the lion. "...you..."

Everyone else stood there, looking at them.

"...We can help you so you aren't scared no more..." Joy said, walking toward Kiri.

"...no, I told you, I'm not afraid!" Kiri yelled desperately, trying to break free from Jack. "Let go of me! If you don't, I-" At that point, Jack did something Kiri didn't expect at all.

He hugged her.

"...Jack?" Charon uttered, surprised by that.

"...I dunno why you act all creepy, and I don't get why you like things like death so much..." Jack said, actually smiling a little. "...but we can help you through it... so just relax, and tell us what's on your mind." As he spoke, everyone could see the fiery lion coming from Jack's back slowly hug Kiri as well; however, the pink flame slowly changed into a pure white color, giving out a soothing aura.

"...haa..." Kiri uttered, her eyes widening slightly, before she slowly sank to her knees, with Jack following. "...this is..." she uttered, before looking towards Joy.

Joy smiled, coming to hug Kiri too. "It's okay," she said.

Brick was utterly amazed by all of this. So was Jane…

…but Jill had already seen it once, and only watched for what would happen next.

"...I..." Kiri uttered, as she closed her eyes, before hugging Jack back. "...I'm afraid... of seeing others die... of dying... I don't like death... but it's... an obsession..." Then, the owl broke down sobbing. "...I... don't want to be afraid anymore..."

As she sobbed, the darkness actually began withering away, as she returned to her original corrupted form, still crying her heart out in Jack's shoulder.

Jill sighed in relief at this sight.

Joy started patting Kiri's back for comfort, still smiling sweetly. Then she channeled a white glow into her hands. "Here…" she said, placing her hands on Kiri.

Slowly, the white glow spread across her body, causing it to slowly crack open. Once the corrupted shell was fully cracked, it split in two and hit the ground, revealing the actual Kiri within. Still, she cried into Jack's shoulder, hugging him tighter now that her hands weren't dangerous.

"...incredible..." Charon uttered at this sight.

Joy smiled up at Jill. Jill smiled back…

"…Hex…is also alright," Jill spoke. "…we did the same thing to her."

Brick looked up at Jill, but still, she couldn't look back at him.

"...I'm sorry..." Kiri sobbed. "...I was so scared..."

"...there, there..." Jack said soothingly, patting her back. "...you don't need to be scared anymore."

"You're hurt too," Joy said to Brick, walking to him. Brick's head jerked toward her, and the bull was frozen for a few minutes while Joy put her glowing hands on his wound.

When the wound started to disappear, it shocked Jill. Sure, she saw Joy purify the corrupted…

…but she never saw Joy heal before and healing a spirit, no less…

Soon, everyone's attention was directed towards Joy and Brick.

Once Joy was done healing, she pulled her hands away…but then she couldn't walk away from Brick. The bull had her by the arm; it wasn't a firm hold, but a gentle one. This brought Joy to stare back at Brick curiously.

"…I never thought I'd get to see you like this…" Brick uttered.

Finally, Jill was able to look at him, and she was just as petrified as Brick was.

Kiri blinked a bit at this, not knowing the gravity of the situation at hand. Curiously, she glanced at the others in the group, to see their reactions.

Jane had never really seen Brick like this, so this was a first for her.

Joy tilted her head when she saw Brick sort of sad. "What's wrong?"

"…Joy," he muttered. "…do you know who I am?"

Joy tilted her head to the other side, staring at him longer. Jack watched this with some interest, tilting his head a little.

It didn't take very long until Joy's eyes widened. Various images flashed through her mind, much like the many visions she had been seeing. They were all of this man; holding her mother, fighting for her, finding her in the jungle running a fever… things that Metal would do for Jill, but this man did them for her.

An intuition of hers told her the answer, but she was very surprised.

"…Papa?"

Jill held her breath, wondering how she figured it out when Joy never saw him before.

Charon hummed upon hearing that, though he kept quiet, in order not to spoil the moment.

"…Papa!" Joy threw her arms around Brick happily, and this made the bull tremble weakly, before grabbing Joy back, hugging her. Tears rolled down his face, but he tried to hide it.

Jack couldn't help but smile a bit at this sight, tilting his head a bit more.

Jill closed her eyes, and let them have their moment. She felt the same way Brick did; about seeing him here, that is. There were also a lot of other feelings she felt at the moment, having seen him.

Sadness, happiness, guilt, shame, fear…

…knowing that Brick probably saw she was with Metal now, it almost felt like she had betrayed him.

Just when she thought she had done enough crying for today, tears of her own came out; ones she tried to squeeze back. She didn't want to call attention to herself, but she did.

Especially when Brick and Joy finally let go and they saw her.

"…Mama?" Joy murmured, only making Jill turn away.

Brick stood up and approached her, which made her more afraid to turn around and face him. It was pretty awkward with their situation, but Brick knew he had to handle it delicately. As much as Jill changed since his death, she was still emotional like she was years ago.

"…Brownie." He set his hands on her shoulders and her head fell. She didn't want to cry anymore, and if she couldn't hold back, she wasn't about to let anyone see her crying.

So he kept talking. "…I know…well, you know that I've probably watched you since I died…and…that I know what's happened with you recently and all…" he murmured. "…and I'm sure this is really weird and kind of…unexpected for you…"

Jill wiped her eyes, still not moving.

"…with what happened long ago…" Brick continued. "…it was something we couldn't control—"

"—but I wish we could've been able to stop it," Jill cut in, surprising Brick. "I didn't want it to happen…and now that you came here when someone else came along for me, I…" she wiped her eyes again, finding it harder and harder to control herself. "…I don't want you to feel like I don't love you anymore…I…still do…but…" Brick turned Jill around so he could hug her.

And she finally broke down right there in his shoulder.

"...Jill..." Jack uttered, looking on at this with a pretty sad look on his face.

At that point, Charon's ears perked, as he glanced in another direction... and his eyes widened. "...everyone, duck!" he yelled, suddenly flapping his wings so that everyone was knocked to the ground, before he ducked himself.

Before anyone could question him, all of a sudden, a massive explosion erupted a distance away from the group, sending a good portion of the entire jungle flying in all sorts of directions. Thankfully, no debris got close to where the group was positioned, and thanks to Charon knocking everyone down, they all narrowly missed a massive shockwave of electricity that washed across the island.

"...wha- what was that?" Kiri yelled fearfully, clutching onto Jack in panic.

"…electricity?" Being interrupted like that so abruptly, Jill mood changed while wiping her eyes. "That's got to be King!"

"He must be fighting someone," Jane said. Then she saw Jill get right back up and run the direction the blast came. "Jill? Wait!"

* * *

**_*SIGH* All this drama, and then the actions starts again... sure is quite a night, isn't it guys?_**


	23. Chapter 23

_**5 Years Later – Chapter Twenty-Three...**_

"YAAAAAH!" With a couple of fierce screams, King and Spiel threw a series of devastating punches against the leopard, the raw power Spiel exuded combined with the electric surge through King's body resulting in an absolutely devastating combo against Diablo.

Diablo surprisingly enough blocked these powerful blows with various amounts of Corruption. Every single punch was a hazardous blow, but the three fought vigorously on.

Eventually, King leaped ahead of Spiel to try and pummel Diablo on his own, using electricity to augment not only his power, but his speed as well, trying to catch Diablo off-guard.

"Now don't you go forgettin' about me!" Spiel cackled, as he raised his arm, before punching the ground with enough force to cause a fissure to start cracking open, headed towards both of the warring cats.

Diablo caught up with King's speed, and jumped away when he suddenly noticed the fissure. Then he shot an energy ball of Corruption at King, hoping to shoot him toward Spiel's attack.

However, King leapt away from the energy ball before it could hit him, but it seemed like he would fall into the fissure...

...until Spiel suddenly ran up to him and grabbed him. "How about something he won't anticipate?" the pig laughed, as he began spinning around rapidly, clutching to King.

As he spun around, Diablo suddenly noticed that King was beginning to take on a massive, blue glow, as his entire body was brimming with electricity. With a wild laugh, Spiel hurled the electrified King right up towards Diablo, letting the tiger take the form of an actual lightning bolt, which threatened to impale the leopard.

It hit, sending Diablo crashing through a few trees that actually fell over when he shot through them. He landed in a large, dark area out of vision of King and Spiel.

With a laugh, Spiel folded his arms. "Good going!"

"...he's not done yet; I know it." King growled, before he cracked his neck, electricity sparking from his fur. "Be ready, Spiel!"

"...when am I not ready?" Spiel chuckled, getting into a proper stance, watching the area where Diablo crash-landed.

A few minutes of silence passed; well, it wasn't entirely silent since the rain was pouring.

All of a sudden, another large explosion occurred, where a giant wall of Corruption grew. It was so large, it could be seen from all around the island.

Jill saw that, and knew for sure that she was heading the right direction, while she kept running toward it.

Back at the shop, the others could see it with wide eyes.

"...what's going on?" uttered Rudy shakily, holding onto Milo, who was also shaking.

"...something big." Sage uttered, looking at the wall with a concerned look.

"But... what exactly be goin' on over there?" Whisker sputtered.

"...I think I know who's responsible for that." Wiper uttered, letting out a hiss. "...Novagod."

"...tsch..." Natal uttered. "...what should we do?"

"...maybe we should go out there," Striker said. "I mean, King, Lock, Jack and Jill and the other guys are out there. What if they're fighting him? We'd have to help!"

"...but...Brick said to stay put..." Milo murmured in disdain.

"Since when do we listen to Brick? Even if he IS dead!" Ani said.

"...all of us can't go, though." Sage murmured. "The last thing we need is to give Novagod more targets to make the others lose focus." Then, she looked at the others in the shop. "...I take it that you three are going, no matter what, right?" she presumed, looking at Striker, Milo and Ani.

"We've got to," Striker replied. "Jack's out there, and it's like Milo said: We pirates stick together! That means you too Whisker!"

"Aye, ye've got it!" Whisker nodded.

"...if King's fighting him, he might need our support." Wiper said with a nod to Sage, his arms folded. "We can hurry and pick Queen, Miser and Ripper up before heading off."

"...so you guys are heading there, too?" Sonia uttered, rubbing the back of her head.

"We have to; if King bites the dust, who's going to stay in charge of Safe Haven?" Sage said with a shrug.

"...though, I think that should be enough." Wiper hummed, before he looked at Teams Alpha and Chaotix. "You guys stay here. I'd rather not have you risk being attacked by Novagod."

"Right," Cal replied with a nod.

"Hurry up, okay?" Boomer replied.

"We will!" Ani was the first to run out of the shop and outside Jill's barrier into the street.

"AYE! Let's go!" Whisker called, quickly running out of the shop, with Sage following him.

"...Wiper... be careful." Sonia said with a nod to the cobra, taking his hand.

"...I will be." Wiper nodded, before he rushed out after the three.

"...I'm sorry, but I'm not letting my daughter just run out like that," Hunter said. "At least not leaving my sights..." and he ran out with everyone else.

Meanwhile, by the expanding wall, both King and Spiel simply looked up at it. "...I guess he's mad." Spiel quipped with a wide grin.

"...why the hell are you so positive about this?" King uttered, glancing at the pig crossly. "Do you even know what power Novagod possesses?"

"I couldn't care less!" Spiel laughed, as he folded his arms. "I just want the bastard to show himself, so I can beat his face to a bloody pulp!"

A figure was shooting right at them from where that giant wall of Corruption was, and it didn't take very long to see that it was Diablo; only, his wings had grown longer, and so had his whitened hair, dragging behind the demon vampire as he flew toward the two. That wasn't all; his arms had bulged out and mutated into numerous bloody blades, which he rapidly started swinging at Spiel and King.

Quickly, King brought up a massive barrier of electricity, which ensured that the two didn't have to leap out of the way. "...he doesn't give up, does he?" Spiel laughed.

"Kkh..." King growled; seeing as he had to keep the barrier up, this was tearing for him.

"Now..." In that instant, that crimson aura exploded around Spiel, who made a rapid dash for Diablo. "...get ready for a beating!" he roared, throwing a series of absolutely devastating punches at the vampiric leopard.

The punches had impact, Diablo had to admit that, even if he blocked them with those mutated arms. Then he swung a few times more at Spiel.

"...King!" Bushes were split aside, and someone ran out into view, where she stopped in time to see Spiel and Diablo going at it. "...Deity..." Jill uttered.

"...Jill, stand back." King uttered, merely watching the leopard and the pig trade blows. "...I still can't believe it. Me, with my electric powers, can only push Deity about... but Spiel's actually fighting toe-to-toe with him, without anything but his own killer intent. What does that say about us, Jill?"

"...I don't really know," Jill murmured. "But either way, he's got to be stopped..." Then she walked toward the warring two. "He's got Oblivion's soul and I have to get it back..."

"...wait, Jill." King uttered, quickly placing a hand on Jill's shoulder. "I know how you feel, but..." he said, looking back at the two, neither of them losing any ground. "...going in there while Spiel's rampaging isn't a good idea. If you want to take a shot, wait until they separate."

"...okay..."

Diablo tried to speed up, so that he could lash at Spiel with the knifes in his hand and arms.

While he blocked some of the slashes, it was apparent that Spiel wasn't as quick as the leopard, resulting in him taking several gashes across his body. However, he kept throwing punch after punch at Diablo, the pain from the wounds practically non-existent. And throughout it all, the pig kept laughing like a madman.

"You seem to find this very entertaining," Diablo said, continuing to block the punches and throw slashes at the pig.

"But of course!" Spiel cackled, not stopping his assault whatsoever. "Who doesn't like a good fight?"

More figures came out from the bushes behind Jill; the first of them being little Joy. "Mama!"

Hearing that voice, Diablo stopped his attacks on Spiel, and looked toward the voice, seeing Joy. "...there you are..." he murmured under his breath, and since the 3 year old was out in the open, he charged after her quickly.

Before he could get to her, however, a pair of blades suddenly put a stop to his charge, showing that Krieg had gotten in his way. "...don't try anything." he said calmly.

"Good one, Krieg!" Spiel cackled, as he cracked his knuckles, uninterested in the additional company. "Now hold him there, so I can keep on pummeling him!"

"Tsch..." King growled, before giving Jill a nod. "Jill, stand with her, quick!" he called.

Jill didn't just do that; she ran for her and scooped her up in her arms, so that she could stay safe. Joy held to her. "Mama...it's that bad man!" she uttered fearfully.

"I know," Jill replied.

"HAAAA!" Spiel roared, as he suddenly caught up with Diablo, grabbing him by his throat in an attempt to strangle him. "Come on; let's see you squirm! Krieg, back off!" he called, and on command, the warthog did so.

"...by the way, Spiel..." Krieg hummed. "...you might want to hold on."

At that point, from the trees, a blast of Unity rocketed right at Diablo's now-exposed body.

Diablo growled when he saw it coming, and with Spiel holding onto him like this, he couldn't stop it from hitting him; and Spiel too for that matter.

The blast pushed both of them several feet away; however, with Diablo taking the brunt of the blow, Spiel was relatively unharmed. "...the hell was that?" the pig uttered, still not letting go of the leopard.

"...did it work?" Krieg uttered, glancing at the others present to see if they could see if the Unity had worked.

"...It had some effect," Jill said. "...but Deity is a lot stronger than that."

On cue, the leopard grabbed the arm Spiel had him by, and started injecting copious amounts of Corruption in him.

With a growl, Spiel gave Diablo a fierce kick to knock him away, before he shook his arm with an annoyed scowl. "It didn't work the last time, so what makes you think that it'd work this time?" he said, shooting the leopard a glare.

Just then, before he could get on his feet, Krieg suddenly impaled the leopard with one of his swords, to keep him pinned. "...this should hopefully work."

At that point, someone leaped from the woods, before firing two Unity blasts down on the leopard; Lock. "...hopefully." he hummed, waiting to see if he would hit his mark.

Both hit, since the sword kept Diablo pinned. After the second blast, he didn't move very much, but he definitely looked annoyed.

Just then, Jane, Jack, and Charon appeared from behind the bushes, and Jane gasped when she saw this sight.

"...strange..." Lock uttered. "...three direct blasts of Unity... and his body remains solid."

"...remains solid?" Spiel muttered. "Just what the hell are you all talking about?"

"...you should probably get yourself up to date, Spiel." Charon uttered, glaring at him with a few of his heads.

Seeing that, Spiel chuckled. "Charon! And Oblivion, as well... you know, Charon, I thought you were gonna stay on the mountain..." Then, he folded his arms. "...and that certainly is a lot of heads."

"...Spiel, would you take this seriously?" King snarled, before looking towards Krieg. "Get away from him!"

With a bitter nod, Krieg retracted the sword, and leaped back.

Seeing the other three here, Jill started looking around. Someone was missing. "...where's...?"

But she was interrupted when Diablo let out a roar, and a massive wave of Corruption imploded, knocking a good portion of everyone off their feet.

Everyone, aside from Charon and Spiel, who were the only ones who weren't knocked off their feet, could only look at Diablo from where they lied.

"...tsch... this man _is_ powerful..." Charon uttered.

"...well, now..." Spiel hummed, before grinning again. "...seems like someone's pissed off."

Diablo allowed himself to be consumed in his own black goo, and even Krieg's sword that had him pinned was taken into the goo, while it mutated and expanded. Jill was the first to get back up, and thankfully, Joy didn't take any damage with her secure in her arms. Watching this, Jill grit her teeth. "...he'll mutate into something bigger," she said.

And she was right. The glob stood up, and it grew to be something that was bigger than even Charon. It had bigger, more demonic looking wings, muscles like boulders, one of the ugliest faces ever seen, along with jagged teeth in its mouth, and the mutant arms also changed; big scythe blades protruded out of his forearms, and Krieg's sword was attached to its tail. It still resembled Diablo, but the leopard had become a big demon.

"...kkh..." King growled, clenching his fists. "...how the hell are we supposed to fight him, now?"

"...with all due respect, Spiel..." Krieg uttered, shooting a glance at the pig. "...I don't think we can beat him with conventional methods."

"...tsch..." Spiel scoffed, calmly walking towards Krieg, whilst keeping an eye on Diablo.

Slowly, Jill set Joy down. "…stay safe," she murmured to her daughter, while a flash of light provided her golden blade for her.

The beast stared Jill down, snorting and growling at her.

"...Jill..." Jack gulped, before looking back up at the beast in fear.

"...just be careful, Jill." King murmured, glaring at the beast with a scowl.

Jill nodded.

Then the beast charged for Jill. Instead of running away from it, Jill ran for it head on. Just when the best was about to run over her, Jill jumped and kicked off Diablo's head, gaining some high air. On her way down, she threw her sword, but it was blocked by one of the scythe's sticking out of Diablo's arm.

"_**Doesn't this bring back memories?"**_ Diablo hissed.

"Very unpleasant ones, yes," Jill growled, jumping away from Diablo as he came at her with the scythe blades. Then he swung the tail, but Jill jumped over that, and thrust her sword again, only for it to be blocked by one of the scythe blades again.

Everyone was watching this battle with some degree of worry, save for Spiel, who folded his arms in disinterest. "...hmph... let's see how this'll play out." he murmured.

"_**Now where is Metal Sonic?"**_ Diablo inquired curiously, pushing against her.

Jill's eyes sharpened to a glare, standing her ground. "None of your business." Suddenly, Diablo grabbed her and hoisted her up in the air, digging his large claws into her to make her scream.

"Mama!" Joy cried out in fear, but when she tried to run out, Jane held her back.

"Kkh..." King growled, clenching his hands into fists. _...he's really taking his time!_ he thought irritably. _Hurry and get back here, Metal!_

Jill used her sword on Diablo's fingers to set her free, and when the beast let out a pained scream and dropped her, she tried to get up. Multiple puncture wounds on her were bleeding as she rose to her feet.

While Joy was afraid to watch, she became more relieved when she saw the wounds shrink and disappear, leaving Jill unharmed.

Black ooze splattered from the stubs that used to be his fingers, and Diablo glared at her. Then he threw one of the scythe blades her way, coated with Corruption. Jill kept evading each swipe, drifting the battle away from the group.

That was when Striker, Ani, Milo, and Whisker appeared on the scene, as well as Wiper, Queen, Ripper, Miser, Sage, and Hunter.

"There you are, Jack!" Striker said.

…then they stopped when they saw Jill battling Diablo.

"...what in blazes be goin' on?" Whisker sputtered immediately.

"...a lot." Sage murmured, quickly glancing at the others. "Don't interfere! This isn't an opponent we can beat... we'll need to let Jill take care of him."

"...keke..." Ripper uttered, tilting his head. "...get him, Jill!"

Just then, Jill got smacked down painfully, and Diablo had her pinned on the ground by the scythe blade through her abdomen. A lethal injection of Corruption made Jill cry out more.

"...kkh... we can't just let her fight him alone!" Charon growled, quickly looking at Jane. "We have to help her!"

"…but…but I…don't know…" Jane started looking around for Brick, but she couldn't find him. Where was he?

Jill finally kicked Diablo away, so she could get up. Even if she healed that wound, there was no way to replenish her energy, and she was losing steam, quick. She had to resort to heavy power.

So her entire body took on a green glow, and the wings spouted out of her back. Then she flew at Diablo and rapidly tried to slash at Diablo with her sword, with the beast blocking her every move. His size didn't hinder his speed, from what it looked like.

"...feh... she's the only one who can fight him?" Spiel murmured, before folding his arms. "If that's the case, I don't see a bright future for us."

Him saying that brought Sage's attention to him... and when she got a look into his mind, her eyes widened. _...bastard..._ she thought.

"Why" Jill tried another slash but Diablo blocked it, "won't" she jumped on him but Diablo jumped away, "you" she shot a few slash-like waves of Unity from her sword at Diablo, but he jumped out of the way of that, allowing the slash-waves to cut down the trees, "hold" then she charged madly at Diablo again, "STILL?"

When Diablo simply hit her away with his free hand, she tumbled over on the ground into a puddle, getting soaked. Then she had trouble pushing herself up to her knees, even.

"Mama, look out!" Joy gasped, but she was too late to warn her mother that Diablo was going to grab her. The beast took the ewe, and slammed her into a rocky wall, hard. Then he started tossing Jill around like a rag doll, beating her against trees, the ground, and that rocky wall again.

Finally, he threw Jill onto the ground, and having taken such a beating, Jill could hardly move. In fact, she felt something wet run down her head. At first, she just assumed it was the rain, but when she wiped it off her head, she saw red. Her head was bleeding.

"…not…again…" she moaned, collapsing onto the ground. Everything started becoming too dark and unclear, and Diablo was stomping toward her. Jill didn't do anything; she _couldn't_ do anything.

"NO! MAMA!" Joy pried herself away from Jane.

"Joy, WAIT!" Jane screamed, but that called Diablo's attention, and when Joy tried to run to her mother, Diablo whacked away the small girl.

She, too, hit the rocky wall nearby, and started crying out of pain and misery at what was going to happen, falling onto the ground weakly with scrapes and bruises from the rocky wall.

"JOY!" Quickly, Jack ran towards the small ewe, trying to get her on her feet. "...c-come on, Joy; get up..." he uttered, trying to keep himself from crying.

"...enough!" With a roar, Charon took to the air, before all of his heads began firing countless fireballs upon Diablo, to keep him busy. That was an incentive for King and Lock to run to Jill, both of them trying to get Jill on her feet, checking to see if she was still conscious.

Unfortunately, Jill was now out cold.

And Charon's diversion worked, with an annoyed Diablo opening his hand and firing his own dark flames at Charon; these blasts much, MUCH bigger than what Charon shot at him.

As the flames blasted against him, Charon let out plenty of roars, as he collapsed to the ground, rattling it.

"Charon!" Jane gasped worriedly.

"Tsch... guess we have no choice!" Quickly, Sage brought everyone together in one group separate from Diablo, before erecting a psychic barrier. "I'll hold him off for as long as possible! You guys need to get Jill to wake up, before he breaks through!"

"_**You think that barrier can hold for long?"**_ Diablo growled, throwing his fist against it. The mere impact should have been enough to really hurt Sage's mind.

"GAAAAH!" Sage cried, the barrier briefly wavering, before solidifying.

"Sage!" King uttered worriedly.

"...what... power..." Sage coughed, still focusing on keeping the barrier up. _...but a few more blows of that... either the barrier shatters, or my head'll explode..._

"_**I've waited too long for you all to stop me now,"**_ Diablo snarled. _**"65 years may not do anything to an immortal, but it sure as hell is long!"**_ He raised his fist again_**. "Accept your fate! Everything will end tonight, and none of you will see the daylight of tomorrow!**_" Then he aimed to punch the barrier again.

Joy cowered in Jack's arms in fear.

…_Daddy…where are you?_ She wondered desperately.

Before the punch could connect with the barrier, however, all of a sudden, what sounded like a thunderclap rang through the sky, bringing everyone to a screeching halt.

"...thunder?" King uttered, as he looked up at the sky. "...no... that didn't... sound like a real thunderclap..."

"...something's coming." Krieg uttered, looking upwards as well. "...something big."

At that point, more of those thunderclaps rang through the air, as one could see the sky literally warping up above them, contorting to make way for something. Then, in a brilliant flash of light, along with a deafening boom, it appeared; a massive city floating on a chunk of land, with jets making sure that the island stayed afloat.

"...no way!" Jack uttered. "That's... Metropolis!"

At that point, only to those who looked especially hard, they could see a silhouette standing on top of the city's tallest tower, the wind blowing through a cloak this silhouette wore, causing it to flap in the storm.

"…wow…" Striker uttered.

"…he seriously warped the entire city here?" Hunter bellowed in disbelief.

Joy looked up at this in hope. "…Daddy?"

The silhouette, briefly looking down at the scene, let out a sigh, before he inhaled. "NOVAGOD!" he roared, actually outdoing the storm itself in terms of noise. "ARE YOU PREPARED FOR DEFEAT?"

"...that's him, alright!" King laughed, pumping his fist in the air. "Way to go, Metal!"

Diablo turned away from the barrier to fully face the direction of the city. _**"Defeat?" **_he scoffed. _**"You couldn't defeat me 5 years ago…even with your flying city."**_

"...the city is not what I intend to defeat you with!" Metal called, as he suddenly shot off the tower, flying down towards where Diablo and the others stood, hovering before him. "...but needless to say... tonight, it ends, Novagod."

"_**That's what I've been saying,"**_ Diablo murmured.

"...good. Then you're ready..." As Metal spoke, he closed his eyes, stretching his arms out. "...for your defeat."

At that point, the group saw seven differently-colored objects start rotating around Metal rapidly, before they shot into his body, unleashing a massive golden aura around the hedgehog, before a bright flash shot from him, covering him fully.

"AWESOME!" Ani exclaimed with a big grin, and Striker was just as excited. It had been a long time since they last saw Metal in this form.

Joy's eyes lit up in amazement. Numerous images flashed through her head, the most prominent of another blue hedgehog that had done this countless times. Sure, Metal was a robot back then which meant Sonic wasn't his grandpa after all, but that didn't matter. Metal was just like Sonic in a lot of ways, even if they weren't related in blood.

And Her Daddy was becoming a Super.

Diablo wasn't intimidated; just irritated with the blinding light.

Once the light faded, Metal stood before them, though now, his entire body had changed. In fact, he looked exactly like his Neo Metal Sonic form, aside from being coated in golden metal as opposed to the blue metal, along with his mechanic eyes being blue. Though, one part of him remained organic; namely, his muzzle. "_...now, Novagod..._" Metal uttered, cracking his knuckles. "_...let's get started._" he added, before golden metal slid across his muzzle, acting as armor.

In that instant, golden energy brimmed from Metal, before he shot at Diablo like a torpedo, intending to skewer him.

Metal had moved too quickly for Diablo to evade, so the beast stumbled, clutching to the part where he bled black goo from where Metal shot through him.

Before Diablo could recover, Metal suddenly pointed his palm at the beast, and fired explosive, golden-green blasts of Chaos-powered Unity at him.

"...wow." Jack uttered at this.

Diablo was thrown a long distance away from everyone, knocking over so many trees no one could count.

_"...you all stay here."_ Metal said, before he suddenly rocketed after Diablo, leaving everyone in the dust.

"...let's hope that he doesn't get himself in trouble..." King murmured.

Sage nodded, when she suddenly blinked. As they had been distracted by Metal attacking Diablo, she had failed to notice that two people were missing. "...where's Spiel and Krieg?"

Everyone in the bubble started looking around.

"...great," groaned Ani with her hands on her hips. "Just what does he think he's doing anyway!"

"...he doesn't think; he knows exactly what he's doing." Sage uttered, before she looked towards King. "He plans to usurp control over Safe Haven."

"...he WHAT?" King uttered, looking at Sage in shock. "Are you serious?"

"Yes..." Sage nodded, closing his eyes. "...and to do that... he planned on killing you, King."

"...kill King...?" Queen uttered in surprise.

"...but if that be the case..." Whisker uttered, as he looked around. "...where'd he go?"

"...maybe we went after Diablo and Metal," Milo supposed.

"Mama..." Everyone looked over, and Joy was by her unconscious mother, looking at her in despair. "..Mama...pwease wake up..." she muttered.

"...hrm..." Lock grunted, as he knelt by Jill as well, placing a hand on her neck to feel her pulse.

"...J-Joy..." Charon coughed, as he looked at the small ewe. "...what you did to Kiri and Brick... perhaps you could do the same to her?"

Joy looked at Charon, and then she looked back at her mom. Would it work? Quickly, the 3 year old put a glow to her hands and put them on Jill, in hopes that it WOULD work, and that Mama would be okay...

It really did work. Jill mimicked the same white glow, and all of her wounds started going away.

"...wait," Hunter uttered. "...what do you mean, 'what she did to Brick?' Did you guys actually..." he looked at the others in disbelief. "...run into him?"

"...we did." Charon nodded. "...though, where he is now..."

"...he's not lying." Sage said with a nod. "Joy, Jack, Charon and Jane all saw him..."

"...but where did he go?" Tails Doll hummed.

"...right now, that doesn't matter." King murmured, looking towards where Metal had shot Diablo off to. "...we've got to wait for Metal to cream that vampire..."

Diablo got up from where he was knocked down, and a dark aura appeared around him to power him up, looking around to see where Metal was.

At that point, a golden light appeared above Diablo, aiming a hand at him. _"This is the end."_ Metal uttered, before unleashing a torrent of blasts down at the monster.

Diablo wasn't quick enough to dodge them, so he put up a thick barrier of Corruption; though the blasts were powerful enough that it threatened to shatter it at any moment.

With a scoff, Metal suddenly vanished, reappearing behind Diablo. _"...you may have been able to kill Sonic the Hedgehog... but you likely never got a taste of his power. Let me show you that power!" _At that point, the Metallix began rapidly shooting through the beast repeatedly, tearing through his body numerous times, with speed so immense that one could literally only see blurs of where he used to be.

Diablo could do nothing more than take the hits painfully.

After a while, Metal stopped right in front of Diablo, his back turned to him. _"...the final blow."_ he uttered, before he snapped his fingers. All of a sudden, within Diablo, something began expanding drastically.

With a roar, Diablo unexpectedly exploded and a golden energy from within had shattered his beastly form apart. After the powerful blast cleared, Diablo was lying on the ground back in his first form; an ordinary leopard with white hair and tiny bat wings.

Briefly opening his eyes, Metal glanced back at Diablo, before walking towards him, pointing his palm at him, where golden energy began building up. _"...this is the end... Deity Novagod." _he uttered.

For the first time ever, Diablo actually looked a little nervous. But then he swallowed it down. "...even if you kill the host," Diablo muttered. "...I can still come back to haunt you."

_"...I doubt that you'd have the guts."_ Metal spat. _"This blast is powered by Chaos and Unity... and unlike the last time I tried fighting you with it on my own... tonight, I bear no hatred." _he said, preparing to fire. _"...this will kill even you, Deity Nova-"_

At that point, from out of nowhere, Metal was punched right out of Diablo's way, slamming quite powerfully into a tree. The impact imparted the emeralds from Metal's body, reverting him into a blue, partly mechanic and partly organic hedgehog, who just had the air knocked right out of him. Before the emeralds could hit the ground, however, someone suddenly picked them up.

"...you know..." the stranger who punched Metal chuckled, picking up Krieg's sword that had been dropped once the beast was destroyed. "...that sorta power... is just what I need." At that point, it became apparent who now stood before Diablo; Spiel, carrying a massive broadsword hoisted over his shoulder.

"...the emeralds, Spiel." At that point, Krieg ran to Spiel with the emeralds, though now, one couldn't see any swords on Krieg's person.

Diablo weakly looked up at the pig with a sharp glare; but one could also tell it looked a little...thoughtful.

"...now..." Spiel chuckled, handing Krieg his sword, before taking the emeralds. "...let's see what powers these seven stones can grant me!" As if on cue, the Chaos Emeralds rotated around the pig rapidly.

Seeing this, Metal grit his teeth. "...n-no!" he yelled, but he was far too late; once the emeralds entered Spiel's body, a bright light swallowed him, hiding him from view.

Diablo closed his eyes to shield them from the flash.

Once the bright light died out, Spiel stood before them with a golden tint in his skin, looking down at Diablo with a wild grin. A massive, golden aura, intermixed with his own crimson aura, surrounded him, as he slowly lifted his sword. _"...this power... I'd love to give it a test!"_ he roared, before slamming the massive sword down on the leopard.

With a quick flap, Diablo flew away from it, barely missing it. "...hm...you certainly are powerful," he murmured. "...and you were right...Diablo proves to be quite the weakling..."

Spiel laughed at that. _"I know!"_ he laughed, swinging the sword around wildly. "Now, are ya ready to die?" he roared, shooting up into the air to swing the mighty sword at the leopard.

"...actually..." Diablo did more evading, actually keeping up with the speed. "...I'd like to try my hand at that power..."

No one expected Diablo to suddenly grab Spiel by the throat. This time, the grip was unbelievably tight, even for the pig.

_"KKH!"_ Gritting his teeth, Spiel glared at Diablo, before suddenly grabbing him in a choke-hold as well. _"Don't you learn? That shit doesn't do anything to me! So knock it off!"_

"...I'm not going to corrupt you..." Diablo muttered, sticking his other hang near Spiel's mouth. "..I'm going to take over you myself." Then before Spiel could even hope to flinch away, black goo splattered right inside Spiel's mouth, choking him.

_"KAH..." _Coughing profusely, Spiel threw Diablo to the ground, before he grasped his throat, trying to hack up the goo.

"...take him over...?" Metal uttered, getting to his feet, before he looked at Krieg. "...hey! Krieg!"

"...that dark presence..." Krieg uttered, gritting his teeth. "...it's... moved."

Diablo's body twitched on the ground. The white hair fell and darkened to its original black again, and the wings shrank within his back. Afterward, Diablo's dark red eyes shot open with a scream, and he sat up in a fetal position, starting to rock back and forth in shuddering fright.

Seeing this, along with Krieg's statement, Metal's eyes widened. "...that bastard..." Quickly, he looked at Spiel. "...he transferred?"

As Spiel coughed, all of a sudden, bat-like wings suddenly protuded from his back, and black goo dripped from his mouth onto his shirt, blackening it completely. After a while, Spiel stopped coughing, merely hanging in the air.

"...Spiel?" Krieg uttered, tilting his head.

"...tsch... Novagod... you..." Metal coughed, only able to look up at Spiel, who remained motionless.

Diablo was totally unaware of what was going on, rocking back and forth continuously while muttering things to himself. He certainly looked frazzled.

After a while, Spiel glanced towards Metal.

"...you... just won't give up, will you, Novagod?" Metal yelled. "How many people do you have to control before you'll just give up?"

Spiel, at first, made no reply... when all of a sudden, he grinned.

"...who the fuck said that Novagod was in control?"

Diablo finally noticed, and looked up. He screamed, and then got up and started running away.

"...hmph... run away, little kitty." Spiel chuckled.

"...Spiel..." Krieg uttered.

"...tsch... Krieg!" Metal called, looking at the warthog. "Run away; he's going to-"

"Kill him?" Spiel assumed, before laughing. "Don't be a fool, Metal Sonic! Why would I kill my best man? Do you take me for a fool?" Then, he looked down at Krieg. "...you know, I got a lot of power from that moronic vampire... and a lot of knowledge, as well... would you care to have a taste of that?"

"...I'll be fine, Spiel." Krieg said with a nod. "With all due respect."

"Of course!" Spiel chuckled, before he landed. "...now... grab Metal."

Before Metal could protest, Krieg suddenly snatched him, bringing his blade to Metal's throat. "Gah-"

"...sorry... but this has to be done." Krieg said, before he glanced at Spiel.

"Good, good..." Spiel chuckled, before he began walking after Diablo, Krieg following. "...now, King... my time is coming!"

* * *

**_...oh snap...things are looking REALLY bad 0o;_**


	24. Chapter 24

_**5 Years Later – Chapter Twenty-Four...**_

Over back with the group, they sat for a few minutes now. A small murmuring caught all of their attention, and when they looked over, Jill started to move.

"Mama!" Joy uttered in sweet relief, grabbing Jill.

Jill groaned a little, since that took her off guard, but while she hugged Joy, she looked around at everyone. "...what...happened?"

"...Diablo had us cornered, and had knocked you out, but..." King murmured, before pointing up at the sky; right at Metropolis. "...well, someone finally showed up."

"He's dealing with Diablo as we speak." Sage said, before she looked down at Joy. "...and little Joy here fixed you up."

Joy smiled at Jill when she glanced at her daughter, and then looked up at the city in amazement. Jill chuckled. "...he brought the whole city with him...look at that."

"AAAAAAAAAAGH!" That scream ensued gasps from the various in the group, and they all witnessed a black and white leopard running frantically past them. He didn't even bother to stop and acknowledge them; he just ran.

Once he was gone, everyone remained frozen.

"...so...that was Diablo, right?" Ani murmured.

"...but if that's Diablo..." Milo muttered, growing very uneasy. "...then where's...?"

"He's right here." Hearing that voice, everyone looked to where Diablo had come from, where they could see Spiel and Krieg approaching them, with Krieg holding Metal at sword-point.

"...n-no way..." King uttered, seeing the wings coming from Spiel's back. "...he possessed you, too, Spiel?"

"...nope." Spiel chuckled, before he and Krieg stopped, as the pig stabbed the sword into the ground, causing a quake just by setting it down. "The fool thought he could control me... but he's weak. Right now, I'm in charge."

"Daddy!" Joy screamed, with Jill grabbing Joy in fear and holding her in tight security.

Milo's eyes widened, and stepped back. "...you're a demon," he uttered. "You have to be..." He could feel such violent spiritual patterns in that pig; something he never saw before in his life. Not even Deity Novagod had that kind of entity storming inside of him; sure, something like it, but not as powerful or as aggressive as Spiel's right now.

"...heh. What a compliment." Spiel chuckled, before pointing at King. "...now, get over here, King! I intend to take my place as boss of Safe Haven, and leader of the forces you've gathered for the past five years... otherwise..." Then, with a sick grin, he pointed at Metal. "...he dies."

"COWARD!" King roared, suddenly rushing out of the barrier, his fist pumped full of electricity, before he punched Spiel right in the gut. However, the punch had no effect whatsoever. "...tsch..."

"...I kid." Spiel chuckled, before he suddenly grabbed King by the throat. "I just wanted to see how'd you react... and you didn't disappoint."

"Spiel...stop it, please!" Jane uttered.

With a wild laugh, Spiel suddenly took to the air, taking King with him.

"Son of a-" Sage shrieked, stopping herself from cursing in front of Joy, before she began flying up after Spiel...

...when Krieg suddenly dropped Metal and leaped in front of her, kicking her back down to the ground. "...I don't think so." Krieg uttered, as he landed.

"...what do you think you're doing, Krieg?" Lock uttered, glaring at the warthog.

"...if you wish to face Spiel..." Krieg uttered, before pointing his sword at the group. "...then you must kill me before that."

"...Krieg..." Metal growled, glaring at the warthog as well. "...how? How can you be so loyal to someone like Spiel?"

Krieg, however, remained silent.

"Yeah, seriously?" Ani barked. "I thought you wanted to make everything better Krieg!"

"Spiel doesn't seem like he has the best interest of everyone in mind," Hunter added.

"...nonetheless..." Krieg uttered. "...I won't let you pass."

At that point, Spiel and King had flown far up into the sky, as Spiel glanced at King with a wild grin. "...you know, that vampire changed everything." he chuckled.

"...how..." King spat, glaring at the pig. "...do you figure?"

"...it's easy." Spiel chuckled. "Originally, I was only gonna kill you, and usurp control over Safe Haven... but now, I've got more than enough power to bring the world to its knees!" he laughed, before closing his eyes. "...especially with that spell..."

"...spell?" King uttered. "...you mean... the one to summon Dark Gaia?"

"...yes... the very one." Spiel chuckled. "Once I've killed you, and dealt with anyone else who dares to oppose me... I'll summon Dark Gaia, and make him my pet! That way, my rule is guaranteed!"

"...you..." King growled. "...you're... insane...!"

"I know." Spiel chuckled, before stretching his arm out, looking at King. "...now... die." At that point, Spiel let go of King, letting the tiger fall towards the ground. Before he could even get there, however, Spiel aimed his arm at him, and unleashed a powerful beam of darkness, which not only pushed King down towards the island, but made the entire island quake underneath the pressure, the area where King landed actually cracking beneath him, before the beam died out. With that, Spiel laughed like a maniac, stretching his arms outwards.

"King!" Hunter ran out of the barrier, but then he remembered that Krieg was still there when he was confronted by the warthog. "Listen, you CAN'T let him do this!" he barked in Krieg's face.

"...I have to." Krieg uttered. "No one else I've met wants the world to unite... I have to follow him, and ensure that it becomes a reality."

"But don't you realize the damage he could cause by doing so?" Queen yelled. "His power is unreal! If we allow him to go unchecked, he will become a greater threat than Deity Novagod could ever hope to be!"

"...as I've said..." Krieg responded. "...if you wish to pass... you will have to kill me. Otherwise, I will not allow anyone passage."

"Kkh..." Metal growled. Obviously, they were getting nowhere with this... but Krieg, in spite of taking orders from Spiel, was still an honorable person. _...killing him would be..._

"...Krieg..." Jill spoke up now, standing up with Joy in her arms. "...do you remember last year...when you saved me from that group of harassing soldiers?"

Krieg turned his head towards Jill, tilting his head. "...vaguely." he admitted. "Why do you ask?"

"...well..."

_It was a late summer afternoon. Krieg was just walking through the wilderness of the woods, taking in the scenery and getting a good feel for the place. He had just gotten here, after all, and being blind and all, he wanted to get a lay down of the terrain._

_His ears caught something._

_"MAMA!"_

_Following his ears, the warthog stumbled onto a tense situation. A group of soldiers were all laughing their heads off; one of them restraining a tiny ewe girl who couldn't have been older than 2. She was crying **profusely** and trying to fight out of the grip of the soldier, while all of them were circling around two figures._

_One of them was beating the other severely, to a point where they knocked the other against a tree, and they slid to the ground weakly. The one that was being beaten was another ewe, presumably the littler one's mother. She wasn't doing too well, with two black eyes, a cut lip, and bruises on her arms, and she looked up at the other solder with a determined glare, trying to get back up._

_The other soldier just laughed, and pushed the mother onto the ground. "You know, you're not doing such a good job being a mom!" he mocked. "Aren't you supposed to take care of your kid and protect her?"_

_"I didn't even think they let kids on this island!" another soldier added in._

_"You look awfully young yourself to be havin' a kid, doll," the soldier that knocked down the woman chuckled. "Did you get knocked up when you were 15 or something?" He laughed when he kicked her. "Where's the dad, huh? Did he bail when the little brat came along?"_

_Krieg would have blinked, were he not blind. However, though he knew that the soldiers needed to be stopped, he didn't know of the mother's condition, and thus, waited to see if she would respond._

_"What's the matter? Got nothing to say?" Then the same soldier let out another laugh. "Oh, that's right! You can't say nothing! You can't even talk!" The soldier kicked the mother again, making the other soldiers chuckle some more._

_"Stop bein' buwwies!" a defiant 2 year old said, then let out a yelp when she was thrown next to her mother._

_"You wanna fight, snot-nosed brat?" one of the soldiers said. "Then fight! This is Safe Haven, kid! Nobody's allowed to be a wimp!" Then when he punched her, and the little girl cried, there was more mocking laughter._

_Hearing that, Krieg scowled. ...to think that they would... he thought, before he stepped out into view. "...that's enough." he uttered coldly._

_"Oh, are you the dad then?" the soldier spat when he noticed Krieg, making the others laugh. The little toddler crawled closer to her mother, both of them looking back curiously at Krieg._

_"...I want you to leave them." Krieg said calmly, cracking his neck. "Right now."_

_"And what are you gonna do if we don't, tough guy?" another soldier spoke, all of them approaching Krieg._

_"...you'll find out." Krieg said, not moving from where he stood._

_"Let's get 'im boys!" the first soldier exclaimed, and all of them bum rushed Krieg._

_However, that proved to be a mistake, because Krieg not only managed to block their attacks, he actually made the soldiers wind up attacking themselves, all without throwing a single punch. As the soldiers staggered back, he folded his arms. "...is that it?" he hummed._

_"...nope!" the same soldier said, all of them spreading apart to get Krieg from different angles._

_Still, that didn't help, as Krieg easily got them to stumble past him, still not lifting a hand to attack them. "...are you done?"_

_"Unless you mess us up beyond recognition, then we ain't stoppin'!" the same soldier said, with all of them lunging at Krieg again._

_"...hm." In that instant, Krieg moved a lot quicker than one would imagine one of his size to do, easily giving each of the soldiers a punch to the face, knocking them back. "...I'd rather not go overboard. Not in front of them."_

_The punches alone hurt like heck, and all of them groaned with bloody noses. Then with whimpers, one after the other left, leaving the toddler and her mother._

_"...huh..." Krieg sighed, before he walked towards where he guessed the two were. "...you're alright?"_

_"Thankies lots, mister!" the little ewe said._

_Slowly but surely, the mother got up on her feet, and when she was about to stumble, the little ewe helped her stay on her feet._

_"...do you require assistance?" Krieg inquired, tilting his head._

_The mother shook her head, but when she looked up, she realized that Krieg was blind. Taking a nearby stick, she dug it into the ground. Then slowly, she took Krieg's hand, and placed it on what she dug in. Krieg felt letters that had been written in the dirt._

_Thank you, the letters said._

_Krieg hummed, before nodding. "...you're welcome." he said._

_The mother smeared out what was written, and wrote some more. Once she was done, she took Krieg's hand again to let him feel the letters._

_My name is Jill, the letters said._

_"...Jill..." Krieg hummed, before nodding. "...I see... it's nice to make your aquaintance. My name is Krieg Verruga."_

_"I'm Joy and I two years old!" the toddler actually held up 4 fingers, but she didn't know, and no one really corrected her on that._

_"...two years, huh..." Krieg hummed, before smiling a bit, reaching slowly towards Joy to rub her head. "...you sound like a good girl."_

_Joy giggled when Krieg did that. Jill smiled, while she wrote something else in the dirt. As usual, she placed Krieg's hand on it._

_I owe you for saving us, it read._

_"...ah, think nothing of it." Krieg said with a nod. "...I just couldn't let those guys do as they pleased with you."_

_Jill wrote some more. Are you sure there's nothing I can do to repay you? the writing asked._

_"...I'm positive..." Krieg said, when all of a sudden, his stomach growled a little. "...well... maybe something to eat wouldn't be too much to ask for?"_

_"Mama's gotsa meekshake shop!" Joy exclaimed._

"...well, I still owe you one, don't I?" Jill said, looking up at Krieg in the darkness of the rainstorm.

Krieg was silent, merely looking towards Jill.

"...I don't know what goes on between you two, so I guess if you want to follow Spiel, then I don't have the power to stop you from doing that," Jill continued. "But...this isn't good for you; it isn't _right_ for you."

"...Spiel pretends to be your friend, but if he doesn't like you no more..." Joy remembered that from a few days ago, when Metal only got here.

"...you're a good man, Krieg," Jill muttered, "and I don't want you to follow Spiel to your death...I've seen enough good people die..."

Krieg still remained silent, merely looking towards the ewe. "...you..." he uttered, before he sighed. "...ten minutes."

Metal blinked. "...what?"

"...ten minutes." Krieg repeated, just as Spiel suddenly flew down, grabbed his sword, and flew towards where he had shot King. "...I'll give you ten minutes to stop him. If you truly do not wish to take my life... that's the time I'll give you to try and take him out, without my involvement."

Jill slowly set Joy down on the ground, and then her wings shot her right outside the barrier past Krieg and Metal, while she drew out her sword, flying after Spiel.

"...you..." Metal uttered, when he saw that Krieg slowly sat down on the ground, meditating. "...what?"

"...in ten minutes... I hope that she'll be prepared." Krieg murmured.

* * *

Coughing weakly, King clutched his chest in pain, unable to move after taking such a heavy blow. _...how am I still alive...?_ he thought.

At that point, Spiel landed by him, pointing his sword at him. "...this is the end, King." Spiel chuckled. "Soon... the world is mine."

From out of the corner of Spiel's eyes, he then saw giant dark green slashmarks head for him.

With a sneer, Spiel swung his sword at the air, creating a single slashing wave that tore through the green marks, exploding once it made contact with the final one.

Once the blast cleared, Jill landed on her feet a distance away from Spiel and King. "Chaos Emeralds, AND a vampire? That's hardly fair..." and this time, Jill's eyes were red, and she was smirking.

For long enough, Callous had wanted to meet Spiel also.

Seeing her red eyes, Spiel smirked, as he weighed his sword on his shoulder. "...I see... you must be Callous." he chuckled, tapping the side of his head. "Good thing that this guy didn't fully break you when he went into Jillian's body, eh?"

"...h-how..." King coughed, looking up at the pig. "...do you... know this...?"

"...didn't I tell you?" Spiel chuckled. "With the vampire came not only his strength, but his memories. It's a lot to take in... I can't believe that Diablo didn't lose his mind when he was bein' possessed."

"That cat almost did, the coward," Callous said, approaching Spiel. "Heck, knowing anything, Diablo'll end up in an asylum, where he belongs..."

"Heh; no kiddin'." Spiel chuckled, turning to fully face the ewe. "...so, to what do I owe the pleasure, "princess of darkness"?" he said with heavy sarcasm in calling her that. "You want a shot at my power?"

"Do I really have a choice?" Callous mumbled. "I mean, I'd have to if I'd want to stop you. Kind of goes without saying." Then she lunged with her sword.

Spiel, however, simply grabbed the sword, before yanking it right out of Callous' grip. "...now don't go waving things like this around." he chuckled, before hurling the sword into the woods. "You could hurt yourself." Then, he suddenly slammed his own sword down on her.

Callous leaped aside with a chuckle. "Oh please; I think I'd know how to take care of myself," she said. When she held out her hand to where the sword disappeared into the woods, a flash of light made it reappear in her hands. "After all, I AM a single mom." And with another swing, she sent another one of those slash-mark waves at Spiel.

"I think you mean that _Jill_ is a single mom." Spiel chuckled, before swinging his sword to create another slashing wave; however, this one tore through Callous' wave, rocketing right at her without stopping. "From what I've gathered from Deity, you're not actually a mother; you just spent a lot of time foolin' around with this Johnny-guy!"

Callous cart-wheeled around this wave, allowing it to take some of the trees behind her.

"Well hey, I figure me and Jill are basically the same, which makes Joy part of me too," Callous shrugged.

"You keep telling yourself that." Spiel chuckled, before he began slashing several more slash-waves at Callous. "I'll be waiting on the other side of reality to check you outta dream-land when we're done!" he laughed.

When dodging wasn't enough, Callous brought out both of her whips, which helped to get rid of a bunch of the other slash-waves she couldn't dodge. "Well what else am I supposed to do, cooped up in her?" Callous murmured. "I mean, it wasn't really my choice to..." Callous held her tongue then.

"...okay, yeah, it was a choice of mine to be in this girl, but what else could I really do?"

"You could've taken charge!" Spiel laughed, before he rushed at Callous again, swinging his sword at her rapidly. "You could've shown Jill that you wouldn't mess about; you'd do something huge! Didn't that occur to you five years ago?"

"Maybe I didn't want Johnny to become a mindless monster; did THAT ever occur to you?" Callous blocked him off quickly, keeping as much focus as possible.

"Oh, really? Because to me, and Deity, for that matter, it seemed like Johnny was doing pretty well when you and him met up again!" Spiel laughed, his assault growing stronger.

"Hey, it's bad enough I can't ever really see him until Jill dies," Callous remarked, "but I don't need you trying to point out my flaws. That's supposed to be my job."

"Well, you're doing a poor job at that!" Spiel laughed. "And this is barely a challenge! Come on; surely the princess of darkness harbors more power than this!"

Callous sighed, "If you insist."

Callous broke out her scythe, and with the combination of that and Jill's blade, she not only parried Spiel much easier, but she could counter attack as well, making this into quite the sword duel.

However, Spiel remained grinning, even as he was pushed back a few times. "HAH! There we go; just what I wanted! But how long can ya keep it up, Callous?"

"For awhile," Callous murmured. "But then I guess you'll pull something out of your sleeve that'll make me sweat, and things'll just escalate from there, right?"

"Maybe!" Spiel laughed. "But let's not get ahead of ourselves; we're not done here, yet!"

"Nope." Callous pushed him back a little more, and then she unleashed a combo on him, where her speed suddenly seemed to multiply while the sword and scythe were covered in Unity energy.

Surprisingly, even with his massive stature, Spiel managed to keep up with Callous, blocking the incoming strikes with frightening accuracy.

Callous made a circle with both weapons then, creating a ring of Unity that filled with energy. Once she crossed the weapons and pushed them against the ball of Unity, a large beam shot at the pig.

With a cackle, Spiel jabbed his sword into the ground, erecting a massive barrier of Corruption that actually withstood the massive beam, if only barely. Then, as he pulled the sword out of the ground, he kicked the barrier, which caused it to rocket right at Callous.

Callous cut the barrier in half with both weapons. "You know, I have to give you credit Spiel; I can't think of any way to irritate you," she said. "You're not like Hex where I can just tease her about her sexuality; you just don't really give a damn about anything."

"I'm very passive, like that." Spiel chuckled. "How'd you think I managed to slip underneath Sage's radar for five years?"

"True, true," Callous murmured.

"...but what about you, then?" Spiel chuckled. "There must be something that gets underneath your skin as well. Which is it? Being forced to share Jill's body? Not being able to see Johnny? Being stripped of the power you held? Give me a holler if I'm getting warmer!"

Gritting his teeth from where he lied, King weakly glanced at the two of them. _...are they... even taking this seriously...?_ he thought.

"I'll admit, some of those things used to bug me," Callous said. "But I guess I built a tolerance for guys that tried to get under my skin; you wouldn't believe the number of 'em that did it to Jill." She withdrew Jill's blade for a whip, and aimed it for Spiel's legs to trip him.

Spiel, however, countered this by simply flying up into the air. "Well, guess we're two of a kind, Callous. Which makes me wonder..." At that point, he aimed his free hand at Callous. "...why don't you join me? You, me and Krieg could throw the whole world into chaos, when I take it over! And unlike Deity, I'll let you roam free! You won't have to worry about me trying to dispose of you when you're "not needed", or anything! Really, you'd benefit more from joining my side than to stay on the losing side!"

Callous stopped, and actually started considering it.

"See? It's not that bad, when you think about it." Spiel chuckled.

"...C-Callous..." King coughed, glaring at her. "...d-don't listen to him!"

"...and if something sounds off about this deal to you, don't hesitate to ask!" Spiel laughed. "You want Johnny? I'll get him for ya! You want money? I'll get that, too! I can give you anything you point your finger at, if you only decide to switch to my side!"

"...me, joining you?" She said. "You're really asking this?" She was still actually thinking about it too.

"Of course! You're strong, and I don't consider you an enemy!" Spiel laughed. "Make any sort of condition you please! I'd be more than willing to oblige!"

"Hm..." Callous rubbed her chin, really thinking this through.

"...kkh..." King grunted, trying to sit up. "...C-Callous... don't be a fool! If you side with him... then we're all doomed!"

"...what do you know, King?" Spiel chuckled, glancing at the tiger.

"...enough to know that..." King spat. "...you're planning on summoning Dark Gaia!"

"...true, I did say that..." Spiel hummed, tapping his chin. "...but maybe that won't be necessary. Didn't it cross your mind that I wouldn't summon it, after all?"

"...you..." King coughed, before looking at Callous. "...don't!"

"...well, Callous?" Spiel chuckled. "Just remember; anything you want, I can give you. All you have to say is a few words, and the world lies within your palm."

"Summoning Dark Gaia huh? So THAT'S what the old man's plan was..." Callous said, smirking. "...I have to admit though, it's a pretty sweet deal."

Hearing that, King gritted his teeth, his eyes widening. _...no..._

"...isn't it?" Spiel chuckled. "Remember; if you have any questions, just ask away."

Callous chuckled, but then something made her smirk fall.

Inside, there was just this tiny spark of doubt in her. Why? This is the kind of deal she's always wanted; freedom away from the imprisonment of someone else's body, to roam free and do whatever she wanted. She couldn't understand why something inside her just kept her from saying the word "yes."

...maybe she wondered what Johnny would really think of this?

No, this is the sort of thing Johnny would agree to as well.

...so why did she hesitate?

"...having second thoughts?" Spiel hummed. "Come on; I told you that if there was something you wondered about, all you had to do was ask! There's no need for hesitation, Callous!"

"...see, that's the thing Spiel," Callous murmured. "I want to agree, but I get this weird feeling..."

Then it hit her like a slap on the face.

Joy.

"...well?" Spiel hummed. "Come on; unless I know what's bugging you about all of this, we won't get anywhere! So tell me; what's making you hesitate?"

Callous frowned with a shrug. "Eh...call me a softie, but...I don't think that kind of thing would be good for Joy, you know?"

"...so, Joy's the problem, eh?" Spiel hummed, rubbing his chin. "...well, that won't be a problem, really. You want to be a good mother to her? I can arrange for that as well! Like I said; anything you want, I can get for you. And anything she wants, I can get as well! Really, this is an easy choice, Callous."

"Hm..." Spiel saying that almost made her doubt grow. She was amazed that happened. Her doubt was confirmed with numerous other thoughts; Joy wouldn't want her friends to die...she wanted to live with Jill and Metal as a family, and a world full of chaos WASN'T what she wanted.

She sighed. "Boy, am I going to hate myself for this...but I'm gonna have to decline, Spiel."

"...declining, huh?" Spiel hummed, before sighing. "That's a shame. Well, suit yourself, Callous."

King let out a sigh of relief, wiping his brow. _...thank goodness..._

"...so, I guess that you're still gonna try and take me down?" Spiel inquired.

"We'll, I'd have to, right?" Callous presumed.

"...pity." Spiel sighed. "...well, I can't waste more time with this, so... let's end it quickly, shall we?"

At that point, darkness flowed around Spiel's entire body, before flowing upwards in what could only be described as a towering inferno of darkness, completely covering the pig.

Callous frowned, and brought out Jill's blade with her scythe.

Once the darkness stopped flowing, Callous saw what Spiel had become.

Now, he towered over her like a giant, having grown to a size even greater than when Diablo transformed. His entire body, like Hex when she transformed, was a shadowy version of his own body, and four pairs of wings had sprouted from his back, along with the pair he already had. Along with that, momentarily, the shadows would glow golden and crimson, as the shadowy pig looked down at Callous.

"...aw crap," Callous murmured.

* * *

"...ten minutes." Krieg said, as he stood up, brushing off dust from his body. "I have to intervene, now."

"No!" Joy ran out and grabbed Krieg by his shirt. "Please don't, Krieg! Mama's gotta have more time!" she pleaded.

"...I am sorry." Krieg sighed. "But it's been ten minutes."

"...we can't let you do this, Krieg." Metal shot in, glaring at the warthog.

"You have to let her try, Krieg," Striker added in. "He has to be stopped! Who knows what he can do with that kind of power!"

"...she's had ten minutes." Krieg pressed. "I have to intervene at this point..." With that, he began walking off, with Joy being dragged along.

"...stop, Krieg!" Metal called, quickly running towards him and grabbing his arm, though that didn't stop the warthog. "Listen to us! Stop this!"

The others remained silent to see what was going to come from that, while Joy still clung to Krieg.

"...nothing you say will make me stop." Krieg uttered, still moving towards the battlefield. "I have to stop this."

"Please..." Joy kept begging, even if she felt like it was useless, she still held to Krieg; which only was successful on dragging her along even more.

"...I told you; I have to stop this." Krieg pressed, now beginning to walk faster. "She couldn't best him within the allotted time... so I need to end it."

"Krieg, stop it!" Metal yelled, but that was only an incentive for the warthog to start running, carrying Metal and Joy with him. "KRIEG!"

Something suddenly swooped past the three of them, running quickly. Joy caught a glimpse of who it was. "Tasha?"

The linx looked very frantic, running as fast as she could in the direction that Metal, Krieg and Joy were going in.

Gritting his teeth, Krieg suddenly picked up the pace; even carrying Metal, Joy and his last sword, he was able to keep up with the lynx.

"Tasha!" Joy called out, but even that didn't catch the linx's attention. The 3 year old could tell that she was scared as she ran this direction.

"...what is the matter?" Krieg called once he started running right next to Tasha, glancing in her direction.

"I saw," Tasha was breathing in between words as she ran, "Something big!" She tried to run faster if she could. "I think," she ducked under a tree branch, "Twilight's in trouble!"

"...I see." Krieg hummed, somehow being able to move around the woodwork without any difficulty, in spite of his blindness. "...don't worry; it'll be over soon."

The four of them finally arrived to the scene of the battle, and Tasha covered her mouth in horror at what she saw. "Is that Spiel?"

She didn't even need to ask. Callous was still in the middle of battling with the pig titan, dodging whatever attack Spiel threw at her, but she was starting to sweat now.

_**"...come on; I expected you to make a comeback!"**_ Spiel laughed, swinging his arms at Callous wildly._** "Go on; throw an attack that'll topple me! Don't be shy; just do it!"**_

"...what... happened to him...?" Metal uttered, before he glanced a small distance away from Spiel, seeing King lying there. "...King!"

"...guh?" Blinking, King looked towards the newcomers. "...Krieg... Metal, Joy... Tasha?"

"Twilight!" Tasha ran to him, thankful that he wasn't fatally injured, but worried about him still. Then she looked up at the monstrous Spiel that fought Callous. "What happened?"

"...a lot." King coughed, looking up at Spiel as well. "...Novagod... he tried possessing Spiel... but can you believe it? Spiel suppressed Deity! He's using that vampire's powers with no repercussions!"

"He what?" Tasha uttered in disbelief.

"Mama!" Joy cried out.

Unfortunately, that stole Callous' attention, and when she looked, she got whacked away by Spiel, "AUGH!" and thrown into the ground harshly.

_**"...hm... how unfortunate." **_Spiel hummed, before looking down at Joy with a smirk. _**"So, you wanted to help your mother, right? Well, you're not doing that good a job at that."**_ he quipped.

"Shut up!" Metal yelled at Spiel, stepping forward. "You will _not_ talk down to her!"

_**"Oh, I'm sorry; I didn't mean to step out of line." **_Spiel chuckled. _**"But then again, given what I have become, that's a bit late, eh?"**_ Then, he looked down at Callous. _**"...I'll give you one shot. If you can wound me, I'll let you live for a bit longer, so I can take care of King. If not... well..." **_As if on cue, a black blade of shadows materialized itself from his arm. _**"...you do the math."**_

Callous got up, glancing over at the few over there who watched her; Joy giving her a hopeful look. Then she looked back up at Spiel.

...then she stumbled a bit.

"...what's wrong with her?" Tasha uttered, noticing that Callous looked a little pale for a minute.

_**"...hn?"**_ Spiel hummed.

The ewe finally looked up from her strange attack, and looked up at Spiel. He noticed that only one of the eyes was red; while the other was green. _"Fine, we'll hit you with what the two of us together can put into it!" _she proclaimed; actually sounding like she possessed two voices as opposed to one.

And while the crowd nearby was shocked, the ewe took both weapons, creating a strange symbol out of Unity energy with them, like writing utensils. Once the strange figure was created, it started to glow brighter, and brighter, and brighter...until it shot a flashing, massive combination of waves and beams of Unity energy, right at Spiel with unbelievable velocity.

_**"HN?"**_ Quickly, Spiel shot an arm forward, the waves and beams slamming into that arm, which he tried keeping in place; however, everyone could see that it was pushing against him.

Tasha shook. "...I never knew...she had that power..." Sure, she had heard of things, and she saw Jill put that barrier around the island, but she hadn't seen Jill in combat like this.

Jill and Callous growled, and the two of them tried pushing forward a little more; the beam and waves growing bigger and more powerful.

_**"...gnh..."**_ Spiel growled, trying to push the beam and waves back, but still, one could see him having difficulties with it.

"...she could..." Metal uttered. "...actually beat him...!"

Jill and Callous saw this, and tried pushing farther. _"You know Spiel, there IS something that bothers you!"_ they laughed. _"YOU DON'T LIKE TO BE BEATEN BY A GIRL!" _And that doubled the size of the beam and waves shot at the giant pig.

_**"...when the hell did you get that idea?"**_

At that point, the pig suddenly moved aside, letting the beam simply fly past him, though as a result of that powerful attack, his arm fell limp. _**"I ALWAYS welcome a challenge, even if I end up losing." **_he chuckled.

"...n-no way..." King uttered. "...he... _dodged_ it?"

Jill and Callous frowned, folding their arms.

_Well, at least it damaged his arm,_ Jill thought.

_Yeah, but we got a LONG way to go before we got this guy on the run for his money,_ Callous replied in thought.

_**"...well, I changed my mind." **_Spiel hummed. _**"If I try and take King now, you'll obviously try and stop me... so, I'll deal with you, first." **_Then, he opened his mouth, where dark energy began gathering. _**"Try and stop this!" **_Then, a massive beam of darkness of equal power, velocity as the one Jill and Callous fired, shot out of his mouth, headed right for the ewe.

"MAMA!" Joy watched her mother get engulfed by that beam, who had not expected Spiel to shoot something like that.

"...J-JILL!" Metal yelled, absolutely shocked at the pig's attack, not to mention that Jill was engulfed in this beam.

For a moment, it really looked like that was it, while Spiel continued to shoot on.

Then, something started to happen.

A golden ball of energy started growing from where Jill was stricken down, and then it burst, desecrating Spiel's beam apart.

_**"...now what?"**_ Spiel hummed, looking down at this.

Jill and Callous were then helped up by hand, and when they looked up, they met with a pair of brown, caring eyes.

"Nab those emeralds, and show him what you can really do, Brownie."

"...Papa!" Joy blurted out.

"...Brick..." Metal uttered.

_**"...oh, what the hell is this?"**_ Spiel scoffed. _**"Keep out of this!" **_At that point, he shot his bladed hand forward, intending to impale all three of them at once...

...when the blade suddenly stopped in front of them; it had impaled someone else.

_**"...hn?" **_At first, Spiel was confused, but after a short while, his eyes widened, as did everyone else's. _**"...y-you... what the hell are you doing?"**_

"...hngh..." Coughing, the one who took that attack looked towards Jill, blood trickling from his mouth. "...ending... it..." Krieg uttered.

Jill's half gasped, and suddenly, both eyes became green. "...Krieg..."

Joy was horrified. "KRIEG!"

_C'mon, there's no time for this drama! _yelled a thought in Jill's head, turning both her eyes red. Then she pointed her sword up at the sky. A heavenly ray of light shot down from nowhere in the sky, with a sparkling energy descending and collecting at the tip of the blade.

Spiel, however, didn't even notice this, as he tried pulling the blade out of Krieg, but the warthog held onto it. _**"...what the hell, Krieg?"**_ he yelled. _**"Pull away; I'm not gonna let you die, you idiot!"**_

Coughing, Krieg kept looking at Jill. "...this is... the only way... he'll be distracted..." he uttered, using every last inch of strength left in his body to keep the blade stuck in him.

Jill's eyes went from red, to one red and one green, and Jill and Callous nodded to him. Then when there was enough energy at the edge of the sword, they pointed it at Spiel. A tiny beam shot out intending to stab Spiel, and there was no way he could evade with the pig's attention elsewhere.

The beam struck home, though with his attention aimed at Krieg, Spiel didn't even seem to notice it hitting him, until he glanced down at them. _**"...wha..."**_

One by one, seven brightly shining objects streamed out of Spiel, going to Jill and Callous' side.

"...what are those things?" Tasha uttered in amazement.

"...the... Chaos Emeralds..." Metal uttered.

_**"...what? NO!" **_Roaring, Spiel suddenly fired a horde of beams right down at Jill and Callous. _**"GIVE THOSE BACK HERE!"**_

Brick put up a golden barrier, obscuring these beams. "Now or never, Brownie..."

They nodded, and closed their eyes. The seven Chaos Emeralds rotated around the ewe quickly, getting faster and faster as they spun into her.

"...Jill..." Metal uttered in relief, before he looked up at Spiel.

_**"ARGH- DAMN IT!"**_ Spiel roared, before looking back down at Krieg. _**"Krieg! What the hell's gotten into you?"**_ However, the warthog gave him no reply, as he simply looked at Jill.

Like before with Metal and Spiel, there was a blinding flash. Once the flash faded away, everyone looked at a golden being. The same wings were outspread from her back, almost bigger than they usually were. A halo and a couple of bracelets made from some green jewel hung on her, and a pale green ribbon was intertwined around her arms in place of her green coat. Her shoes were gone, and her jeans had been ripped down to shorts.

Pale, green glowing eyes looked up at Spiel.

"...she's...beautiful," Tasha commented in awe.

"...you're telling me..." Metal uttered in agreement.

Spiel glared down at Jill, now actually looking angry. _**"...you... YOU..."**_ he growled. _**"...YOU'RE AT FAULT, JILLIAN CONDIT!" **_he suddenly roared. _**"YOU MADE MY BEST MAN TAKE THAT BLOW, DIDN'T YOU? WHAT SORTA BULLSHIT DID YOU FEED HIM WHILE HE WAS WITH YOU? HE'D NEVER HAVE DONE THIS IF YOU DIDN'T SAY... WHATEVER THE HELL IT WAS YOU SAID!"**_

_"He's a good man, Spiel,"_ Jill said. _"And you're a bad influence."_ Then she shot at Spiel, throwing a punch at his face that would actually knock the titan down.

"Krieg!" Joy ran out toward the battlefield, hoping to get to Krieg before it was too late.

_**"GUAAAH!" **_Spiel yelled, as he toppled over, rattling the ground.

"...kkh..." Krieg coughed, as the sword slid out of his body, before he sank to his knees, covering his wound with his hands. "...guh..." he uttered, looking towards Joy.

Joy pressed her hands on Krieg's wound quickly, putting a white glow on him and his wound. "...I can help..." she uttered.

Jill started a combination of rapid punches and kicks right at Spiel's face.

Before Joy could begin healing him, however, Krieg placed his hands on her, gently moving her aside. "...don't worry about me, for now..." he uttered, before looking over at Spiel helplessly being assaulted by Jill like that. "...right now... the biggest threat... lingers within Spiel..."

Joy looked over at her mother pummeling Spiel. "...that bad man is in Spiel, right?" she asked.

"...yes..." Krieg uttered. "...if you really want to stop Spiel... you... have to stop Novagod..."

Joy continued to look. Then a hand was set on her shoulder, and she looked up at Brick. "Now what are you thinkin' about?" he asked her.

"...Daddy said that bad man was turned bad..." Joy said. "...Maybe he wasn't bad 'afore he got turned bad..."

"...not... bad...?" Krieg coughed. "...don't... be naïve, Joy... someone who could instill such evil..."

"...Mama and Daddy stopped him," Joy said. "But he still came back..." Then she looked back up at them. "...and they just fight him and fight him and fight him." Strangely enough, the 3 year old had a point.

"...but still," Brick murmured. "...I don't think anyone that evil can be purified, Pumpkin."

"...if I may..." At that point, Metal ran up to the three, his eyes on the battle. "...we should fall back, before we get caught in the crossfire..."

_**"YAAAAHHH!"**_ Roaring, Spiel began trying to attack Jill now, swinging his arms rapidly at her in the air.

At that point, King finally got on his feet, weakly trying to move towards the others. "...kkh..." he coughed.

Jill started flying around Spiel's attacks, though Spiel's fury was hard to evade, getting whacked every now and then by the giant pig.

Joy watched this, and a determined look appeared on her face. "...I gotsa help Mama..." she murmured.

Brick looked down at her in amazement. _...Brownie's right, _he thought. _...she _is _like me._ Although when the toddler started running toward the giant pig, his eyes widened. "Joy, WAIT!" he screamed, running after her.

_And doing stuff before thinking is the two of us on that part!_ he thought while he ran after her.

"Ah- JOY!" Quickly, Metal ran after her as well, running alongside Brick.

"...you guys..." Krieg coughed, as he sat down, looking at this. "...be... careful..."

Joy raised her hands and got some green energy, throwing it at Spiel's toes.

_**"ARGH!"**_ Roaring, Spiel thrashed his arms wildly about, trying to get on his feet.

"...tsch... Brick, keep her safe!" Metal called, as he suddenly shot up into the air, before shooting countless tendrils into Spiel's body, all of them glowing with Unity, to keep the pig pinned.

_**"GUAAAAHHH!"**_ With a roar, Spiel tried breaking free from these tendrils, swinging his arms at Metal.

Brick looked up at the thrashing Spiel, and then down at Joy. "...you really want to do this?" he asked.

"...Mhm," Joy nodded.

"...then I'll help you," he said, taking Joy's hand.

"...come on..." Metal uttered, trying his hardest to keep Spiel in check.

_**"...DIE!"**_ Spiel yelled, as he suddenly swung down at Metal, but he missed... however, his fist was on its way to crushing Joy instead, unbeknownst to the pig.

Brick and Joy only had a glance.

_**THUD!**_

That single blow stopped everything going on, because Jill saw that, and her eyes widened in fear.

_"...no..."_

Quickly, Metal turned his gaze down as well, his eyes widening. "...he... didn't..."

Spiel merely looked down at this with a growl, slowly lifting his fist.

With what Jill saw, she became more terrified. "_No...no, no, no!"_ She rushed down to the crater Spiel created, picking up a limp 3 year old. She was quickly growing cold to the touch. _"...Joy?"_ Jill tried to shake her gently to wake her...

...but Joy's eyes did not open.

Quickly, Metal flew down to her as well, placing his hands on her. "...Joy... please, don't let this be happening... wake up!"

Still, Spiel merely looked down at this.

_"...Joy!"_ Jill was growing more distressed, and the longer that Joy didn't respond, the more desperate she was.

Tasha covered her mouth in horror, ready to cry. "...this..."

Jill put a white glow to her hands and Joy took on the white glow...but even then, she didn't move, or change the fact that she felt lifelessly cold to her. _"...Joy, please wake up!"_ Jill uttered.

"...J-Joy..." King coughed, sinking to his knees in despair. "...this... ain't... happening..."

Quickly, Metal let a pale-green aura envelop his arms, before he placed them on Joy's body, trying to heal her along with Jill. "...please... please, Joy..." he uttered, trying to hold in his tears.

No matter how much Metal and Jill put into it, Joy remained stiff.

Jill wasn't ready to accept that, but her own tears already started running down her face. _"Joy!"_ she called again.

Still, no response.

"...Joy! Please, wake up!" Now, Metal was crying as well.

_**...now. **_As the two were distracted, Spiel slowly opened his mouth, dark energy silently swirling into a sphere, which, seeing as everyone's attention was down below on Joy, no one noticed.

"...Joy..." A lump in Jill's throat choked her, while her trembling arms slowly put Joy back down.

This wasn't happening. It wasn't real. This might have been an illusion Spiel conjured up just to mess with her. Corruption can make illusions...

...but...Jill wasn't going to be that stupid, denying herself. This was real, she knew it. She didn't want to believe it. Neither did Metal...the two of them didn't want to believe this.

Unable to comprehend this, Metal slowly closed his eyes, his head sinking in despair. _...Joy..._

...it wasn't fair. It wasn't right.

Why take her too?

Hadn't Jill experienced enough tragedy?

Apparently not. Some force in the world decided that it would take her daughter, just like that. What did Jill do to deserve this? Was she paying for crimes she didn't remember committing? Did tragedy just enjoy following her around for the rest of her born days?

Something dangerously started boiling within Jill then. This was the last straw that broke the camel's back. Her emotions were rising to hazardous levels, and it was visibly obvious because a very demonic air accumulated around the mother, slowly crumbling the dirt beneath her.

His hands clawing at the ground, something began building up within Metal as well. His emotions were an absolute mess thanks to this, and an animalistic aura was gathering around him, intermixing with the demonic air around Jill.

Krieg could sense this, his head weakly perking. "...what has..." he uttered.

Tasha hid behind King. "...T-Twilight...I'm s-scared..."

"...kkh... to be honest..." King uttered, standing protectively in front of Tasha. "...so am I."

Just when Spiel was about to shoot...

_**"...SPIEEEEEEEEL!"**_ both Metal and Jill screamed with copious amounts of hatred in their tones; enough power to shake the ground alone.

Then they shot through the air in a flash at the pig.

_**"Hunh?"**_ Quickly, Spiel shot the dark sphere right at the two, before he got to his feet. _**"Like I'm going to sit around and let you attack me!"**_ he roared, a massive aura building up around him. _**"COME AT ME!"**_

The two parents roared at Spiel, and started unleashing unrelenting attacks on the pig, which were much more powerful than ever thanks to the state they were in.

However, even as he was brutally pummeled, this time, Spiel was attacking them with equal intensity, largely due to the aura surrounding him.

Tasha couldn't even watch this; it was so terrible. So she buried her eyes in King's shoulder.

Holding Tasha, King looked up at this with a stoic look. _...you guys... _he thought.

"...what... a destructive force..." Krieg uttered, trying to remain relaxed.


	25. Chapter 25

_**5 Years Later – Chapter Twenty-Five...**_

All Joy knew was that someone was holding her, tight.

Opening her eyes, she not only saw that Brick was the one holding her, but that she was see-through just like him.

"...that was a close one," Brick murmured. "...Well, at least we're in the big guy now..."

"..we are?" Joy asked, with Brick nodding in reply.

"Let's go find him."

Brick had Joy by her hand, and the two of them started floating off into... the dark void they discovered themselves to be in. Joy had only seen something like this in her dreams, and everytime she had a dream about places like this, it was scary.

"...Papa, why am I see-through?" Joy asked.

"Well, I guess I yanked your soul out of your body," Brick said. "We could only go inside the big monster if we're just ghosts."

Joy grew scared. "...does that mean I'm not alive no more?"

"...don't worry, pumpkin, you're not dead," Brick said. "I made sure to soften that blow before we jumped into that fist. The most you are is just unconscious..." Even if it was just a void, and they were floating, they could feel the area quake violently. Joy clutched to Brick. "...on the other hand," Brick added uneasily. "...everyone out there might think you're dead, which doesn't mean very good things..."

"But can't Mama and Daddy tell I'm not dead?" Joy asked.

"...these things are complicated, sweetie," Brick mumbled. "Sometimes, they can tell you're alive, sometimes, when someone's soul is yanked out of their body so quickly, they look like they're dead...even feel like it." He continued to bring Joy through the void, with another rumble to the area. "...Goddess needs to be more specific on this crap," he grumbled under his breath.

All around them as they floated through the void, they could see flashes of gold and green go off, along with hearing several bestial roars ringing from every direction.

Joy held to Brick in fear. Brick just became more uneasy, as well as severely guilty.

Brownie, I'm sorry if this really hurts you and Metal, he thought.

Well, as long as they kept Spiel busy from noticing anything, the two of them could find Deity, do what they came here to do, and get out of here.

Finally, they came to something; double doors with stained glass windows on them.

While Brick didn't expect them, Joy recognized them somehow. "...I saw those in a dream," she said.

"Did'ja?" Brick said.

Joy nodded. "...Mama and I go through those doors and walk into a safe place in my dreams."

"...huh..." Brick murmured, just looking down at her blankly.

The doors opened for them without them even touching them, and curiously, the two of them floated inside. Then the doors shut behind them, and vanished from sight.

Once the doors closed, the two noticed that it was raining all around them. Looking around, everywhere they saw, it seemed like the remains of a warzone; craters were spread out everywhere, helmets, weapons and bodies littered the ground, and the smell of gunpowder filled the air.

Joy covered her nose. "It's stinky!"

"...well, you're quite the war enthusiast, huh Spiel?" Brick murmured to himself.

"Yes, he is."

Brick grabbed Joy protectively when he heard that voice, and the two saw someone approach them. His boots squished in the mud, and his overcoat was drenched in the rain, while he looked at them with pale, icy purple eyes.

Deity Novagod.

"...well, Cainfield, I didn't think I'd see you here," Deity sneered.

Brick was taken aback by the fact that Deity was showing actual emotion. _...when did that happen?_ he thought.

At that point, the bodies around Novagod slowly began crawling towards the vampire, letting out hellish moans as they approached him. Joy somehow didn't show fear, in front of such a fearsome opponent, and especially when the zombies moved about.

Well, at least she tried not to; Brick could feel the ever slightest shudder from her.

"I have to credit your daughter's bravery, Cainfield," Deity said. "She surely is the offspring of you and Jillian. Bold. Daring. Compassionate." He glared at them. "Naive and impulsive."

"We don't have the time, Deity," Brick growled. "Unless we take you down, they won't have any hope of stopping Spiel." He released Joy, so that he could take a fighter's stance. "So let's finish everything, right now!"

Brick didn't want Deity to catch onto Joy's idea. He still wasn't even sure, himself, if it would work, but if it had a chance, then they would use the element of surprise to their advantage.

Deity only stared at him.

Just then, a massive explosion erupted to the side of the three, and judging from the sound, it was cannon fire. In fact, the moment Brick had challenged Deity, several explosions began erupting all around them, as if someone was cleaning out the area of survivors.

Joy stayed close to Brick and watched to see if Deity would accept Brick's challenge or not.

"...very well," Deity said, suddenly throwing beams of Corruption at them.

Brick frantically grabbed Joy and moved out of the way. However, with the explosions around them, moving wouldn't be that easy. On the plus side, this went for Deity just as much as it did for Brick and Joy. The opponents circled around each other just to evade these explosions; and for Brick and Joy, to avoid Deity's oncoming attacks.

"...he's gonna be tough," Brick muttered.

"Lemmie help!" Joy held out her arms while Brick ran, and she started shooting beams of her energy at Deity. Now it was just a game of tag; both parties evading explosions AND each others attacks.

Finally, the first hit was made, and luckily, it was Deity that took the hit, stumbling a bit. He growled. "...yes, she is definitely your offspring," he hissed; feeling the pain seep in where he was shot. Then he waved his hand. "Get them," he commanded.

Slowly, the zombies scrambled to their feet, some of them suddenly rushing right at Brick and Joy... however, the majority merely looked at the vampire.

"...what?" Deity questioned.

Brick and Joy both wiped out the zombies that ran after them, and that's when they noticed the same thing to their puzzlement.

One of the zombies then stepped forward, glaring at Deity. _"...we do not serve you."_ In that instant, the zombie suddenly grabbed Deity's arm, and bit down on it, just as the other zombies began crowding around the vampire. Instantly, more zombies crawled out from the ground, some of them headed for Deity, and others for Brick and Joy.

The three of them started fighting them back; although Brick and Joy had more success fighting them back than Deity did because of the powers they possessed.

However, more and more zombies crawled out from everywhere, most of them heading for Deity, for some reason.

Brick let out a chuckle, "How's it feel for your forces to backfire, for once?"

Deity let out a blast of Corruption that knocked all of the zombies back in pieces.

Brick watched this with a nervous sweat.

As this went on, the zombies suddenly reassembled, all of them heading for Deity.

In that instant, one zombie grabbed hold of Brick, forcing him to face the undead husk directly._ "We are not his forces! We linger within this body... though, it hasn't long left..."_

"What the-?" Startlingly, Brick pried away from this zombie, taking a few breaths to calm down. "...what's that supposed to mean?" he asked.

_"...it means what it means..."_ the zombie uttered, lurching towards Brick. _"...once the vampire is gone... this body will not last..."_

While Brick visibly panicked, Joy shot a beam of green energy that instantly shattered the husk, knocking it into the ground.

"...good going," Brick mumbled.

"Papa!" Joy said. "We gotsa hurry! Deity's still gots Obli'von! We gotta save her!"

Speaking of Deity, at the moment, several zombies were tearing into his body, biting, clawing and generally making a mess of him.

"...well, how do you intend to do that?" Brick asked.

"Watch me!" Joy jumped out of Brick's arms and started crawling underneath the zombie's legs to get to Deity. Brick didn't exactly know what Joy meant; maybe she meant cover her? Anyhow, he watched to make sure that Deity wouldn't accidentally hit her in his struggle against the zombies.

Finally, Joy was right at Deity's feet, and covered in mud she was, but that didn't stop her. Then an aura of green energy surrounded her body.

Deity only had a chance to look. "?"

Brick witnessed his daughter let out a blast that knocked all of the zombies back; including Deity Novagod. "...whoa..." Joy just amazed him. Was that REALLY his daughter? At such a young age, she was fighting, and beating those bigger and stronger than her.

He'd smile at how proud he was, but he didn't want to lose focus.

As Deity got up, Joy pushed him back. This was similar to what she did to him when Deity possessed her mom, but this time, Deity wasn't blown away. Out from his back, another transparent figure shot out and fell to the ground, gasping for breath.

The zombies, scattered, all looked towards this figure with puzzled looks.

"...that was...horrible..." the transparent figure sat up, and a white unicorn looked at Joy in amazement. "...it's you."

"Obli'von!" but what Joy didn't count on was Deity right behind her, grabbing her by her collar. "Leggo!" Joy protested, struggling.

"Hey!" Brick yelled, running for him, but he sort of forgot about the zombies there.

Indeed; some of the zombies suddenly grabbed Brick and held him in place. However, more zombies crowded around Deity, clawing at him to try and force him to let go of Joy.

Deity fought them back to keep his grip on Joy, but then she kicked him in the stomach. While that probably wouldn't hurt for Deity, it was enough for him to release her, and Joy ran over to Oblivion's side.

Slowly, the zombies were trying to pull Deity down into the, admittedly, massive crowd of undead around him, many of them biting at his body.

"...we can't let Deity go bye bye," Joy said. "If he disappears, then Spiel will hurt my Mama and Daddy..."

Oblivion looked down at Joy, and then back at Deity. "...what are you trying to do, Joy?" she asked in disbelief.

"...I wanna make him not bad no more," and Joy covered herself in more of her green energy, just so she could make another blast like the one before.

The blast blew away all of the zombies, spreading them far away from Deity.

"...you wish...to purify me?" Deity asked her, watching her walk up to him. The suggestion was quite...strange.

"Mhm," Joy said with a nod.

Brick ran over to Oblivion, helping her onto her feet. Oblivion didn't even know who he was, but when she glanced at him, she almost had a feeling or two. However, the attention was more importantly drawn to Joy and Deity.

"...ridiculous," Deity finally scoffed. "I can't be purified." It sounded like he was appalled by the idea. This no doubt discouraged Oblivion, and made Brick feel a little foolish to let her do this, but Joy's powers had surprised people.

"But I gotsa try," Joy said, with a surpringly sweet tone.

Deity only made his arm into a dark blade, and threatened to slash her.

While Brick was going to jump on that and protect her, both he and Oblivion witnessed another blade block Deity's. They, as well as the vampire, froze at what they saw.

The little ewe was not a child, but a woman. Her chocolate brown waves shot out from underneath the black hat of a pirate captain, with white feathers sticking out of it's side. Even though the overcoats were getting drenched, they still radiated with an otherworldly beauty that just surrounded this woman. Lively green eyes looked back at Deity Novagod with determination.

"Anything's possible if you put your mind to it," the woman spoke.

Brick's eyes widened. So did Oblivion's. "She sounds...just like her mother," the unicorn uttered.

"...interesting," Deity murmured, turning his other arm into a blade, but when he thrust it at Joy, she blocked with a hidden dagger from her coat. Then the vampire jumped back, looking over Joy in bewilderment. "...your powers are curious, indeed," he muttered. To Brick, he could tell that Deity was trying to hide how surprised he was.

"My Mom and Dad are counting on me!" Joy said, raising her weapons. "And so's everybody else!" So she ran at Deity, and their sword duel commenced.

_"...how interesting..."_ At that point, Brick and Oblivion noticed a zombie lying besides them, watching the battle; Brick would recognize the zombie as the one who not only had spoken to him earlier, but the one who had initiated the attack on Deity to begin with as well. _"...that she can draw out such power, in spite of her age..."_

"...it's mind boggling," Brick murmured, feeling slightly awkward talking to a dead corpse while watching them battle.

_"...seeing her... reminds me of him, back in the day..."_ the zombie hummed. _"...full of energy, and always ready to do what he felt was right... I can only hope that her life will be longer than his..."_

"...what do you mean?" Oblivion asked curiously. "...are you talking about...Spiel?"

_"...yes."_ the zombie nodded. _"In fact, on this very battlefield, where he was the sole survivor... he learned that he was terminally ill. In my last moments, I saw him proclaim that he would write his name in history... but once the vampire vanishes... he won't have long left..."_

"...in your last moments..." Brick murmured, looking around at the terrain. "...so this is from a memory of his..."

"...but then...who are you?" Oblivion asked.

Slowly sitting up, the zombie cracked its neck. Upon further inspection (which had been a bit difficult, given the chaos earlier), they saw that it was a Mobian bird of sorts, though its feathers were long-since plucked off, its dried-up body not giving a clear indication of its proper species. _"...a former ally of his."_ it said.

"...really now," Brick murmured, taking a quick glance at the battle.

Joy and Deity were going all out. Joy was leaping around with quick agility, and Deity was using flight to his advantage.

Joy at one paint, distanced away. When she opened her hands, something appeared in there that Brick recognized; it was Jill's old bow, before she started to use Unity. Joy took that bow and shot a beam of green energy up in the air, which transformed into a giant dragon of green energy that flew right at Deity. The vampire was knocked away by it's claws, but on the rebound, Deity cut the creature into pieces, leaving it to wither away in the rain.

_"...how quick. She must take from someone."_ the zombie commented.

"...at this point, I wouldn't even think she inherited her abilities from me and Brownie," Brick mumbled.

Oblivion glanced at him from the corner of her eye. _...so it _is _him, _she thought. _Joy's real father._

Deity threw slash waves of Corruption at her, but Joy cut them down with her sword; which Brick realized was also familiar. It was Jill's holy blade, from when she was using Purity; the sword with the hilt of angel wings and the white rose.

Jumping high into the air, Joy raised her sword, and threw it onto the ground. The wave of green energy that came from that was incredibly gargantuan; the earth itself parted in its presence, while it shot for Deity. The vampire was blown away a distance, and just when he got up, he met face to face with Joy, barely blocking a sword slash she came at him with.

_"...certainly impressive... what I would give to witness a battle like that if I were still alive..."_ the zombie mused.

"...what I would give to just be alive," Brick murmured in his own opinion. Watching Joy, again, made him proud. It also made him sad that he wasn't around for her...that he wasn't around for Jill.

Deity was growing irritated with how quick Joy was and how impossible it was to take her down, so with a growl, he turned into black goo and started mutating.

"Uh oh," Joy observed that this wasn't good at all.

_"...he's stalling."_ the zombie hummed. _"I doubt it'll make a difference for the outcome."_

What Deity morphed into was a giant black dragon, one that Brick only recognized easily from the events of 5 years ago. Not only that, but Joy recognized it too; after all, she had seen this creature in her dreams.

"The monster," she said, raising her blade defensively.

The Corruption Dragon didn't hesitate to swipe at her with its claws, but Joy was focused, jumping over and running along the large dragon's back. The dragon roared, and tried to shake Joy off. Joy slipped, but she caught her footing again on the ground, just in time to jump over the dragon's tail swinging at her.

Then the dragon flapped it's wings to blow Joy away. At first, it did, but Joy stuck her sword in the ground so that the gusts couldn't blow her away. Joy then whipped her hand forward and shot a beam of green energy at the dragon, which stopped it from making the wind tunnels. Joy took that opportunity and ran at the dragon with her sword, but when she'd thrust it at it, the dragon whacked her away with its claws.

"...c'mon pumpkin," Brick urged. "You can do it."

Joy got back up from the ground, covered in mud, but otherwise still okay. That was when the dragon scooped Joy up and threw her into the air. Then it opened its mouth and shot black fire at the midair ewe.

Joy, somehow, moved away from the fire, and when everyone got a good glimpse, they saw that she had angelic wings. The dragon roared in protest, and tried to swipe at Joy again while also shooting fire at the girl that swarmed around the creature like a bumble bee. Joy landed again on the dragon's back, but when she ran down its back, the dragon flapped its wings and started to take flight. She slipped off again, but this time she managed to catch herself on one of the dragon's legs; but she dropped her sword.

So she let go of the dragon leg to dive after her sword and catch it before it hit the ground.

When she did, she glanced back and saw that the dragon was flying at her, so a high speed flying chase ensued up above, while the dragon continued to shoot black fireballs at the flying girl.

_"...she got it."_ the zombie nodded, completely certain that Novagod's tactic would fail him.

One opponent finally made their hit on the other; Joy was shot down by a single blast of fire, and when she landed on the ground, she tried to put out the black flames that burned at her clothes. Then the Corruption Dragon came down and stomped its claws down on her, pinning her.

Oblivion gasped and she was going to get over there, but Brick stopped her. "Don't," he said. "Let her handle it..."

The Corruption Dragon opened its mouth to conduct more dark energy within. Joy only looked up at it, wriggled her hand free, and pointed her palm at it. One shot of green energy hit its eye, and with a screech, the Corruption Dragon stepped away from her. It bled black ooze from where Joy hit.

Joy took this moment of its weakness to, again, fly up on its back. This time, she used the blade to slice off the wings, which made the dragon roar again in pain.

When the Corruption Dragon tried to swipe her off, Joy only jumped down. Then she turned around toward it, and she began with so many slashes it was hard to see with the naked eye because they were so rapid. Things were quickly lopped off the dragon; its tail, it's claws, parts of its head, and at the last minute, it's neck. Its head rolled over in the mushy mud, while the body finally collapsed onto the ground.

Silence in the rain. Oblivion only looked at her in amazement. "...she...beat him?"

The body of the dragon turned into goo, which melted back into the form of Deity Novagod. Joy walked over to him, pinning him with a foot. He growled at her.

"...how..." he questioned. "...no one could truly best me...no one...but you."

Joy shrugged. "I guess I'm the lucky one." She jabbed her hands down on Deity; actually stabbing him, and he bled more black goo while crying out in pain. When she put a white glow to her hands, Deity started to cry out in more pain; howling in fact.

Joy suddenly found that it hurt her too. While she held in pained whimpers, strange markings started to appear around her.

"...Joy?" Brick grew worried, and he was the one who'd run over there if Oblivion didn't grab him and stop him. Brick had seen this before on Jill, and it never meant anything good.

"...purifying me...is impossible!" Deity yelled at her, screaming in pain again afterwards.

"I'm still going to try!" Joy proclaimed.

A crack of white light appeared on Deity's face, with the frozen expression of horror on him. Oblivion and Brick gasped.

"...oh my god..." Oblivion muttered.

More strange markings appeared on Joy, and she yelped out, but she kept going.

"...that's it, pumpkin," Brick encouraged. "...keep going."

More cracks appeared on Deity Novagod. "...but...but this is..." he couldn't believe it. "...i-impossible!"

_"...nothing is impossible."_ the zombie chuckled. _"As long as you put your mind on it."_

Deity let out another roar, and it seemed to be at the peak of this, because Joy also let out a roar.

"...stand back," Brick uttered, actually taking a few steps away. "I think he's going to-"

But he was a little late on that warning, because Deity Novagod shattered apart, in place of a blinding light. It took over Joy, and then the blinding flash expanded. Both Brick and Oblivion had to shut their eyes to keep themselves from going blind.

* * *

Jill collapsed on the ground, weak beyond comprehension. It was no use; this guy was strong. And while she faded out of her Super form to catch her breath, she glanced over at her daughter lying on the cold ground in depression.

It was just no use...

With a powerful slam, Metal was sent crashing into the ground as well, landing next to Jill. "...kkh... too strong..." he coughed, still raring to go, but he still looked up at Spiel.

_**"...so in the end, you couldn't stop me."**_ Spiel chuckled, slowly raising his leg. _**"Time to die!"**_

When he tried stomping the two down, Metal suddenly formed a barrier of liquid metal, stopping the incoming foot, but only barely; the metal was cracking heavily, and one more stomp would tear through it, crushing them. "...tsch..."

_**"...this one's for Krieg, Jillian Condit."**_ Spiel chuckled, slowly raising his leg again, for the final blow. _**"Now..."**_ When he sent his leg downwards, however, just before hitting the barrier, he stopped.

"...hn?" Metal blinked, looking up at Spiel.

_**"...guh..." **_Coughing, Spiel grasped his throat, before the darkness around him began fading away. _**"...what's... happening...?"**_

Jill looked up in awe at what was happening, totally clueless what was going on.

Slowly, but surely, Spiel stepped backwards, breathing rapidly. As the darkness withered away from around him, he slowly shrank, letting out pained cries. _**"IT HURTS!"**_ he roared, clawing desperately at his throat, but to no avail. Soon, the fact that it once looked like a gargantuan, ten-winged pig made from shadows was impossible to determine, as he slowly deformed into a shrinking cloud of darkness, which stopped once it reached Spiel's original height.

At that point, the darkness flowed away with the wind, and they could see Spiel with his bat-wings and large sword standing there, though he still held his throat. Slowly, the wings cracked, before evaporating into dark clouds, which faded away in the rain, along with the black that had stained his shirt. Soon, the pig stood before them, degraded to normal.

This was a sheer miracle to everyone; just when they thought everything would end for the worst, this happens.

Jill slowly managed to get to her feet, and helped Metal to his feet while watching this. Just what could have happened?

"...wha..." Spiel coughed, stumbling backwards a bit. "...what in the world...? What happened to... my power...?"

A thought occurred to Jill that brought her to look at her daughter again.

…was it possible? Had Joy done something?

Metal, too, glanced towards Joy, before looking at Jill. "...do you... think that she's..."

Jill didn't answer, watching Joy carefully, because she didn't want her hopes to be shot down. _…please_, she thought in desperation. _Please…Joy, wake up…_

Suddenly, there was movement.

Jill gasped, "…J-Joy?"

Joy mumbled and rubbed her eyes, and sat up. But instead of looking toward Metal and Jill, she looked toward Spiel.

Spiel merely glared at her. "...what...?" he growled.

"…are you okay?" Joy asked worriedly, walking toward the pig.

"...what the hell... are you talkin' about...?" Spiel growled, slowly lifting his sword. "...what... did you do...?"

"…I made that bad man bad no more," Joy said with a friendly smile.

"…she…what?" Jill uttered in disbelief. And just to answer her question, a transparent figure stepped out of Spiel and collapsed to the ground before them.

Blinking, Spiel looked down at this figure, as did everyone else.

Looking up at Joy was a bat, but this one was so different from the embodiment of evil that lived for 65 years. This bat was white as snow, with short hair on his head. His eyes weren't lifeless and cold…they glistened, and they stared at Joy in wondering.

Jill's mouth hung open. "…is that…Deity?"

The bat's wondering gaze turned into a sharp glare. "What did you do?" he yelled at her, anger ringing in his voice. Rising to his feet, he waved his hand…

….but nothing happened.

Shocked, Deity stared at his hand, and then back at Joy.

"...did... he try using Corruption...?" Metal uttered, before he looked at Joy. "...she... purified him...?"

Deity stepped away from Joy. "…but…but that's impossible…" He would tell himself that over and over again, but it wouldn't solve anything.

This child utterly defeated him.

Joy looked at Deity with a bewildered look. "…you're still a bad man?" she muttered.

Deity growled. "Of course I am! I was rotten to the core!"

"…but she still took your powers away," Tasha said.

"...and now..." King uttered, his eyes narrowing. "...now you're nothing more than a ghost."

Deity continued to stare at Joy. He couldn't believe it. All of that, all that he did over the years, wasted.

A large group ran up to this from behind Tasha, King and Krieg, which were Sage and the rest of the gang that were left behind. They stopped right behind the lynx and the tiger, and stared in bafflement.

"…who's that…?" Striker sputtered, pointing to the bat ghost.

"…that's…Deity Novagod…" Milo replied in the same disbelief as everyone else.

"...be ye serious?" Whisker sputtered.

"...it's him, alright." Sage uttered; her eyes wide. "...but... I can't spot any Corruption."

Jack, looking at this, was silent.

"…did…Joy do something to him?" Hunter asked, slowly turning his gaze to the toddler that stared at the bat.

Deity really just wanted to disappear now. Nothing was more humiliating than hitting rock bottom because of a child. He was dead, and now he couldn't do anything at all about it. He was nothing more than an ordinary ghost, and even if spirits have fought in the past, it would be nothing compared to the power he once held. It wouldn't be the same.

He just fell to his knees, and sat down. Then the spirit slowly started withering away in sparkling dust.

"…it's over for me," he spoke hopelessly.

"...the hell it is." Jack suddenly said, causing everyone to look at him with surprised looks.

In that instant, someone who looked exactly like Jack, aside from a hole in his chest and a scar between his eyes, emerged from his body and ran up to the withering Deity, grabbing him and picking him up by the collar. "...remember me, Novagod?" he said wickedly.

Deity actually shuddered, and looked down at him in fright. "J-Johnny?"

"You haven't forgotten about me!" Johnny laughed. "Man, do I appreciate that! Now... you said it's over? I don't think so. Because you and I are gonna have _tons_ of fun." Then, he looked over at Jill. "...Callous... I dunno if you can hear me, but... you won't mind if I take him with me, right?"

"Not at all," That came out of Jill before she realized it. One of her eyes was red, while the other was green. So…while Callous had taken control, Jill was aware of it this time. "I mean, it ought to lift some weight off of some shoulders, right?"

Hearing that, Johnny grinned wickedly. "Just what I wanted to hear. How about I swing around after... oh, a month or so? I can tell you all about how much fun we've had, and you can even request what we can do once I get back to him!" Then, he looked at Deity. "Right, Novagod? Won't we have _so_ much fun? It's gonna be a blast, _right?_" he laughed.

"N-no!" Deity wanted to struggle out of Johnny's grasp, but he was so weak right now that it wasn't possible. "No, please, have mercy! You've had mercy on the others!"

"After everything YOU did?" Ani threw in angrily. "I don't think so! You're getting what you deserve right here!"

Joy looked a little sad. She thought that Deity might have been a good guy deep inside, but it looks like it wasn't what she expected.

"C-C'mon Joy!" Deity whimpered, looking down at her and seeing her like that. "You wouldn't let them hurt me, right?"

Everyone looked at Joy.

Joy just looked up at him sadly. "…you hurt lotsa people…and you still wanted to hurt lotsa people," she said, turning away and walking toward Metal and Jill.

Deity was shocked that even the 3 year old didn't want to help him. "…no…"

"...well, you can't win all of them over." Johnny chuckled, before the ground beneath them opened. "Now, you and I are gonna have lots of fun... so give Johnny a good, old-fashioned... SCREAM!"

On cue, Deity screamed in terror. Then the two of them quickly sunk beneath the ground.

With that, they were gone without a trace.

Joy watched that with more sadness. She couldn't save him…but, at least everything was over now, and so she looked back up at Metal and Jill.

At the moment, the two of them were frozen.

Jill knelt down to Joy, finally. Then she clutched to her and cried again in her daughter's own shoulders, but this time they were tears of utter relief and true happiness. Joy hugged her mother, letting her cry.

"I thought I lost you!" Jill wept.

"Don't worry Mama, I was just a'sleepin'," Joy said.

"...don't scare me like that..." Jill sniffled, still hugging her tightly. "…your mommy doesn't do well with those kinds of things…"

At that point, Metal sank to his knees, letting out tears of joy as well. "...you're..." he uttered, simply unable to express the relief and happiness he felt, slowly reaching over to Joy. Joy reached a hand to Metal since Jill wasn't able to let her go. Gently taking hold of her hand, Metal simply nuzzled it a little, closing his eyes. "...I'm glad... that you're safe." he said.

"I missed you Daddy," Joy muttered.

"...kuh..." That cough brought everyone's attention to someone else, as Spiel was still standing there, holding his sword whilst glaring at Joy. "...all my power... gone, like that...?"

"…so, what was that about other-throwing us, Spiel?" Hunter growled, glaring at the pig.

Spiel glared at Hunter for that. "...no... no way am I gonna let this stop me..." Then, he turned his gaze towards King, who looked back at him. "...I'm gonna..." Then, he let out a battle-cry, and ran right at King, ready to swing at him.

However, that didn't come to pass.

Instantly, the sword became too heavy for Spiel to even carry, as it threw him completely off-balance, causing him to collapse onto the ground, falling on his back. "...kah... what the hell...?" he coughed, though when he managed to inspect it, he saw that he had coughed blood. "...what?"

"…It's that sickness, isn't it?"

That stole everyone's attention YET AGAIN, with two more transparent figures standing over Spiel; a certain bull and unicorn.

"...Oblivion..." Charon uttered with wide eyes.

"...wait, sickness?" Sage uttered. "What are you talking about; I've never heard about any sickness that Spiel could have had!"

Coughing, Spiel weakly looked up at Brick and Oblivion. "...hn...? It's not right... I wasn't supposed to feel like this... not for ten years, at least... so why am I...?"

"…it could have been him; Deity," Brick murmured. "Corruption has tendencies to really mess people up."

"...kkh..." Spiel coughed, clutching to his chest as best he could. "...damn... him being in me must've accelerated it... and I bet the Chaos Emeralds only made it progress quicker..."

"...and he's been hiding it, all this time?" King uttered with wide eyes.

"Needless to say..." Sage murmured, folding her arms. "...it's far too late to save him. He'll die in a few minutes."

"…well…we've got two people that can help," Striker murmured, looking over at Jill and Joy. "…but…can it be healed?"

"Are you crazy?" Milo shot Striker a look. "You want to save him too?"

"…well, why not?" Striker said with a shrug.

"...no..." Spiel coughed, glancing up at Striker. "...don't bother. If I somehow were to recover, King would probably have me exiled for trying this coup... and the same would likely go for... everyone else involved... on my side..."

"...you-" King began, but Spiel suddenly cut him off.

"Besides..." the pig said, looking up at the rainy sky. "...I failed. I'll fade away into obscurity... like so many before me..." Then, he closed his eyes. "...and here I thought... that I could have my name... written into history..."

"…what were you really trying to do, Spiel?" Oblivion asked.

"...how many have done things... that carved their names in history...?" Spiel coughed, opening his eyes half-way. "...Sonic the Hedgehog... Shadow the Hedgehog... Ivo Robotnik... and a lot more..."

"...you... intended to become famous?" Charon supposed.

"...by taking over Safe Haven... I could've lead a charge at GUN and the world... started a war, maybe..." Spiel murmured. "...I wouldn't even care if I... ended up dying from that... as long as people knew... who decided to launch an assault like that..."

"...so you really only wanted recognition." Metal hummed.

"...but... look at where that got me..." Spiel hummed, before sighing. "...I can't be bothered with living, now... let me die, and... take in the magnitude... of my failure..."

"…how funny…" Jill murmured. "…with all the things I did in my past, I didn't even want to be known as a big hero or anything. I just wanted to be left alone…"

"...different tastes for different people..." Spiel hummed, before he looked up at the sky. "...so ends Spiel Gierig... not with a bang, but with a whimper... as he dies unknown... and alone."

Silence filled the air.

"...not alone."

At that point, Krieg managed to claw his way towards Spiel, still remaining conscious, even with his grievous wound. "...if you are to pass on... you might as well... have some company."

Hearing that, Spiel slowly looked towards Krieg. "...you..."

"…both of them?" Jane muttered, letting Oblivion finally realize that her body was standing there. It was something that baffled her, but instead of thinking on that, the matter at hand was more important.

Striker went over to them and sat by them. "At least we'll remember you," he said.

"...heh..." Spiel chuckled, just as Krieg stopped by him. "...I appreciate the thought, at least..." Then, he looked over at Jill, Joy and Metal. "...hey... sorry about... crushing Joy..."

Jill just remained silent. She really didn't know what to say; she didn't want to be mean, but she wasn't that ready to accept an apology from him. After all, he nearly killed her only daughter.

Joy was more understanding than that, though. "Its okay," she said with a smile.

"...heh... you're really something..." Spiel hummed, not bothered by Jill's and Metal's silence. Then, he looked up at the sky, as the rain slowly stopped. "...no tears spilt for me... well, I guess that's... understandable..." he said, before closing his eyes. "...after all... who would cry for me?"

Unbeknownst to Spiel, Krieg, at that moment, was silently crying, for that exact person who believed otherwise.

"…see you on the other side," Brick bid, knowing their times could be any minute now.

"...if we even go to where you're off to." Spiel chuckled, before he opened his eyes, looking at the sky.

"...Jill..." Krieg uttered, without moving from where he lied. "...it seems like... you'll have to hold... that milkshake..."

"...man... what I would give... for one last bite to eat..." Spiel chuckled, before he slowly closed his eyes "...at least... it stopped... raining..."

Soon, the area was once more filled with silence. Slowly, King knelt by the two, placing his hands on their necks. A short while later, he stood up, taking his hands away from them.

"...they're dead." he uttered gravely.

Joy looked away, settling her head on Jill's shoulder sadly. Then there was a longer moment of silence out of respect for the two.

King merely looked down at the two of them with a stoic expression. _...I never thought that this would happen... _he thought, before he closed his eyes. ...so long... Krieg Verruga... and Spiel Gierig...

Finally, Jane looked back over at Oblivion, and walked over to her.

"...who are you?" Oblivion asked in wonder.

"...I'm Jane," the body of the unicorn replied, looking at the unicorn spirit with brown eyes. "...I made sure to keep you alive." And she offered her hand to Oblivion. When she looked at Jane in questioning, Jane nodded. "I'm going to give you your body back."

Oblivion finally took the hand, and once they made contact, Oblivion vanished in a swirl of gusts.

...then a butterfly spouted out the mouth of the unicorn's body, with her coughing.

Charon quickly looked at Oblivion. "...Oblivion...?" he uttered.

The unicorn reacted to that name, but then she eyed the butterfly that took onto the form of a ghostly mouse. "...so, you're Jane," the unicorn murmured.

After watching the mouse nod, the unicorn finally turned around and approached Charon. It was just now that she saw he had more heads, and while it was startling, Oblivion was only happier to see Charon again.

Letting out a small, pleased growl, one of Charon's heads reached down to Oblivion. "...I'm glad to see you back." he said with a nod.

"And I'm glad you're not hurt," Oblivion said, hugging around the neck of that head.

That head closed its eyes with a smile, as another head glanced towards the ghostly mouse. "...Jane... I thank you." he said.

"...what are friends for?" Jane asked with a smile of her own.

Jill smiled at seeing that. Then she looked back at Joy, whom she noticed had been staring at the Chaos Emeralds for awhile now.

Metal had noticed this as well, as he looked at Joy curiously. "...is something the matter?" he hummed.

Joy pulled away from the two of them without answering Metal's question, and actually went to go pick one of the Chaos Emeralds up, looking at it. "...it's pretty," she said.

"...you know, I'm wondering why the Chaos Emeralds haven't scattered yet," Ani said. "Don't they usually scatter after a Super uses them?"

"...usually..." Metal hummed. "...but if I had to guess..." Then, he looked up at Metropolis, which was still hovering above the ocean by Safe Haven. "...they've been gathered together for five years... perhaps they've grown to stay dormant, even at the expense of energy such as that...?"

"...who knows," Hunter murmured.

The emerald in Joy's hand started to glow, and the others followed, while they rose and started circling around Joy. This was quite a sight to behold. Everyone simply looked at this in awe, unable to bring themselves to comment on it.

Joy looked at each of the emeralds surrounding her, and soon, a smile grew on her face.

"...what are you doing, Joy?" Milo asked.

Joy looked back at everyone. "Imma go and clean up the mess!" With that, the little tike actually shot up in the air with the emeralds, and headed high in the sky.

"...Joy?" Metal uttered in surprise. When the shock wore off, he looked towards Jill. "...should we... follow her...?" he asked.

Jill just stared up at where she was going. "...I think...we should stay and watch," she murmured. After all, Joy had done so much, and if there was something she was going to do, maybe they should just let her do it.

When Joy was high enough, she looked around. The sky was less darker than it had been, which meant that sunrise probably wasn't all that far off. Parts of the island were stained with black goo from the battles of the night, and though other places hadn't been touched since the fire, the entire island suffered in some way, shape or form.

The Chaos Emeralds began spinning faster and faster around Joy, and she smiled wider while a bright white aura surrounded her. Angel wings even sprouted out of her back.

This drew the attention of everyone on the island, who looked up at this sight.

Jill looked up at Joy in pure amazement. "...how could she do all the things I couldn't?" she muttered.

"...maybe it was because she was born with her kind of powers," Brick replied. "...I mean, Unity was manufactured by you and Metal... but Joy's power was created naturally. That could've had something to do with it..." and then Brick looked over at Jill. "...it could also be just...you know, how innocent she is because of her age...our combined genes."

Jill looked back at Brick, and smiled. Metal, too, glanced at Brick, smiling a little as well.

"...I guess in the beginning, there were some bitter feelings about you guys," Brick admitted. "...but in all honesty, there's nobody else I would've trusted to take care of them more than you, Metal."

From Joy, the glow around her had gotten so bright that it finally gave off a powerful flash, taking over the entire island. That blinded everyone, though with his lone mechanic eye, Metal was still able to watch Brick and Jane, though no one else could.

In the void of white light, Jane gave one last look at Charon, before she disappeared away in a shower of sparkles. Brick started disappearing the same way Jane did, but at a slower pace. "...when everything calms down," Brick said to Metal. "...please tell Joy I'll always look out for her."

With that, Metal gave Brick a nod. "...I will. You take care of yourself."

Brick nodded back, and then he was finally gone.

* * *

Minutes after, that blinding flash was finally gone from the island.

"...what was that?" Charmy asked, clear all the way down at the shop.

"...I dunno..." Sonia murmured, scratching her head a bit.

"...hey... does everyone see this?" Tails said, as he pointed out of the window. Outside, where there had been several globs of darkness, now lied hundreds of sleeping soldiers, all of them unharmed after the brutal battles that had gone on for the night.

"...my eyes aren't playing tricks, right?" Rudy asked, rubbing his eyes.

"...we all see it Rudy," Cal said with wide eyes.

"...so... we won, y'know!" Newt called, quickly getting to his feet and raising his arms, before he slumped down, absolutely exhausted after the battle. "...man... I'm dried out..."

"...we all are..." Natal sighed, sitting down as well. "...but now... it seems that it's over."

"...but..." Sonia hummed, rubbing her chin. "...where did that light come from, again?"

"Hm..." Boomer looked outside, and the most she could see was seven glowing objects spinning around a small figure. "I can't tell, but someone used Chaos Emeralds."

Charmy chuckled. "...must have been our little Joy."

"...most definitely... our little Joy." Tails chuckled, as he closed his eyes. _...good job._

At the shelter, Will carefully peeked out. "...is... it over?" he gulped, when he suddenly noticed all the soldiers lying about. "...Ed, Marco, Seymour! Check this out!"

"Hm? What's up?" Lin hummed, as she peeked out as well.

"...everyone's..." Ed was utterly speechless, and just about every other soldier that poked their heads outside the safety of the shelter were. Soldiers they knew were lying around peacefully asleep, as if nothing had happened.

"...kinda creepy," Blitz admitted. "...but that looks like a good sign."

"...indeed." Marlo hummed, sitting down on the grass. "...though, it seems that we absolutely failed to pull off Spiel's plan..."

"...personally... at the moment, I can live with that." Phyrra murmured, closing his eyes.

"...I wonder if Uncle Spiel and Uncle Krieg are alright..." Maya hummed.

"...I'm... sure that they pulled through." Ruki nodded, looking up at the sky.

"...it's been one whacko night, man," the parrot said, looking up at the sky. "I might even be startin' to, like, see things."

"Ah, hush up Jam," grumbled Seymour.

"...still... I can't believe we made it." Will sighed in relief.

"...this is great! Now we won't become chow! Isn't that great, Flammy?" Lin cheered, picking up the toucan with her arms.

Flamenco had a hard time breathing with the strength of Lin's hugging grip. "EGH-Si, Lin, we're not chow-ACK!"

"...but still, we should wait until either Queen or Miser show up, just so we know that everything's okay," Francis suggested.

"...or Tasha, for that matter; she just ran off." Marco murmured.

"...well..." Ruki hummed, folding her arms. "...we'll just have to wait, then."

* * *

**_WHEW! Stick around, there's gonna be an Epilogue!_**


	26. Epilogue

_**Epilogue...**_

The day came, everyone awoke, and so many soldiers were mostly confused; though a majority of them remembered what happened with traumatic memories of their experiences. King and his troupe began by rounding the soldiers up in big groups and giving them the laydown of what happened through the night, with quite a lot of explaining to do. Needless to say, the hundreds of soldiers were extremely surprised. Teams Alpha and Chaotix were just trying to re-organize everything with all the chaos from the past few hours.

Sitting against a wall in her shop was Jill, with Joy in her lap; both of them fast asleep. They had been so exhausted after what happened that they couldn't even make it inside to their beds; they had just plopped down here, and fell into a heavy snooze.

Leaning against another wall in the shop, Metal simply watched the two of them, a small smile on his face. _...after five, long years... _he thought. _...it's finally... over..._

At that point, he glanced out of the window, where he could see three characters standing about. Out of curiosity, he exited the shop, and saw the three. "...so... what's up?" he said, as he folded his arms, seeing that Raider, Hex and Kiri were looking towards him.

"...what...happened?" Raider murmured; like Hex and Kiri, Joy's transformation of everything had an effect on him too, and now he was a normal black ox. "...not long after I found the two of them...there was a flash."

"...quite a lot happened." Metal said. "...but to summarize... Deity Novagod is vanquished... Diablo has gone insane... and Spiel and Krieg are dead."

"...they're dead?" Hex uttered, rubbing the back of her head. "...I'm... sorry to hear that."

"...don't worry about it; they wouldn't have wished for it." Metal hummed, folding his arms.

Raider blinked in amazement, and looked around. "...man, that was the scariest thing I've ever been through..."

"...I agree..." Kiri murmured shyly, rubbing her arm.

"...so..." Metal hummed, folding his arms. "...what do you three plan on doing, now?"

"...no clue," Raider murmured. "...in fact, we're not even sure if King's gonna try and hold us accountable for what's happened."

"...well... I can't stay here." Hex murmured. "...I... need to rethink my life... a lot." As she spoke, she looked at Metal. "Once I find Mordecai... we'll leave. I'd rather we do so before Sage catches wind of it."

"...I... don't have anyone to go to, now..." Kiri uttered, rubbing her hands a little. "...now that Diablo's gone crazy... I..."

"Wanna come with us, Kiri?"

The owl looked up and saw a bunch of teenagers walk up to her from behind Metal; Striker, Milo and Jack. All of them smiled at her in a friendly manner.

"...what...?" Kiri uttered.

"Yeah; it could be a lot of fun!" Jack said with a smile.

_"You won't regret it; promise!"_ At that point, Tails Doll popped up from behind Striker, landing on his head.

_"...you're still really young, so you have a lot of time to change and be who you want to be,"_ Snap said, coming to stand next to Jack. _"Maybe you just need to be with some caring people that'll help you."_

"...if you were close to Diablo, I'm sorry about what happened to him," Milo added. "...but I think he only made you more and more afraid on the inside. With us, like Snap said, we could help you."

"...really...?" Kiri uttered, tilting her head a bit, before smiling. "...if that's the case..."

"...I'm sure that would help you a lot." Hex said, a sad smile on her lips, before she began heading off. "...I doubt that we'll meet again." she added, before she was out of sight.

"What about you, Raider?" Milo asked.

Raider shrugged. "...I'll probably just stay here...see if there's anything I can be of use for."

"...you'll likely think of something." Metal hummed, before he turned and walked back towards the shop. "Best of luck to you."

Tasha, who was also standing near the shop, watched Metal leave inside, and then looked at the group talking to Kiri. It was nice to know that a lot of the others had a more fortunate outcome from the battle than some.

"Excuse me, Tasha?" The lynx turned around to meet with Charmy.

"Oh, hello," she said with a greeting nod.

"There's something I need to tell you," Charmy said. "Jill passed on a message to me from your father, just before he died." Tasha's ears perked up at the sound of that. "Jill would come tell you herself, but she was so exhausted from what happened," the old bee murmured. "I'm sure you understand..."

"...Yes, yes," Tasha murmured with a nod. "...what is the message?"

"Your father wanted to apologize for his behavior toward you and King," Charmy began; words that instantly brought tears to Tasha. "Some of his exact words were, 'that King has been the most respectable leader he's met, who's honored the demands of an old and grumpy cat.'" Charmy watched Tasha's head hang, with tears dripping to the ground. So he set a hand on her shoulder. "...I'm sure, despite what went on between you two, he was proud of you, and what effort you put into protecting your people," he continued. "…he was sorry that he didn't support you as much as he should have."

"...thank you," Tasha wept, wiping her eyes. "Those words mean the world to me..."

* * *

Once they had explained the situation to the soldiers, the agents had spread out to help Team Chaotix and Alpha get everything organized; with the exception of King, who had gone to the harbor. "...wonder if things would've turned out differently between us..." he murmured. As it turned out, he was looking at a pair of tombstones, each of them having some flowers placed on them. One of them read this:

_Here lies Spiel Gierig_

_Co-Founder of Safe Haven_

_Remember the Name_

The other tombstone, which was slightly smaller than the other one, read this:

_Here lies Krieg Verruga_

_Loyal to the End_

With a small sigh, King gave the tombstones a quick salute, out of respect.

Soon enough, King wasn't alone. Someone else walked by, stopping beside him to take a look at the tombstones as well.

"…one of the most unforgettable battles ever happened all in one night," Hunter murmured. "…and the casualty only amounted to these two…"

"...it's kind of a shame... to lose someone like that..." King murmured, closing his eyes. "...do you think things could've been... different, Hunter?"

"…maybe it could've, but I don't know in what way," Hunter answered with honesty.

"...hm..." King hummed, letting out another sigh. "...well... at least like this, people won't forget his name." he said, before he looked behind him, towards the horizon. "Now, whenever the ferry loads off new people, they'll see the tombstones... I suppose it's the least I could do."

Hunter put a hand on his shoulder. "…don't worry about it too much," he said.

"...I'll try." King murmured, before he glanced at Hunter. "...you know, talking to you always makes me feel a bit better, Midnight."

"Glad to help, Twilight," Hunter said with a nod.

"...well..." King eventually hummed, rubbing his hands together. "...we should help the others get things back in shape on the island."

"Yeah," Hunter said, allowing the two of them to walk away from the tombstones.

"So, Wiper and Captain Charmy and their groups decided to stay one more night here before they took off," Hunter continued while the two of them walked. "Maybe we should throw a little party before they go, huh? We all could use a little something to ease up after everything…"

"...yeah; I'll see if Miser and Ripper can't cook something up." King hummed. "...maybe I ought to try my hand at some BBQ?" he joked, just to see what Hunter's reaction would be.

Hunter flinched severely. "Are you nuts?"

King laughed at that. "Nah, I'm just joshing ya, Hunter." he chuckled, patting the wolf's back. "I'll let others handle the food."

"…right," Hunter murmured doubtfully.

* * *

The day passed by, with preparations being made ready at the Music Square. Once the evening set in, to put everyone at ease after the events of yesterday, the preparations were revealed to be for a massive celebration, which just about everyone on the island was taking part in.

And everyone was really enjoying themselves; not only were all of the soldiers there, but even a good amount of Tasha's people. Things were a little tense at first, but both groups grew around each other's company, and were seen talking with each other with friendly smiles. After all, the soldiers had protected them in their time of weakness.

Tasha was surely thankful of all of this as she watched her people mingle with Safe Haven soldiers like this.

"Having fun, Tasha?" At that point, King walked up to Tasha, looking at the conversing Mobians all over the Music Square.

Tasha smiled at King, "Oh, yes..." then she looked back at everyone. "It's just...so relaxing to see everyone having a good time."

"...they deserve it." King hummed, folding his arms. "We all do."

Tasha let out a long sigh. "...Captain Charmy told me that my father had a message for me...before he died."

"...he did?" King hummed, as he glanced at Tasha. "...what... did he say...?"

Tasha tried to smile, even if it was a sad thought. "He wanted to say that he was sorry for the way he treated you...that you've been the most respectable leader he's met, who, as Captain Charmy worded it, "honored the demands of an old and grumpy jungle cat'."

"...he said that, huh..." King hummed, before closing his eyes, a small smile crawling across his lips. "...coming from him... those are comforting words to hear."

Tasha looked down at the ground. "...I'll miss him."

Seeing her like that, King placed a hand on her shoulder. "...I'm sure he misses you as well." he said, as a means of trying to cheer her up.

That brought a smile to her at least, and she looked back at King. "...thank you, Twilight," Tasha said.

King smiled back at her. "...you're welcome, Tasha." he replied.

Elsewhere in the area, a row of many grills were stationed up, and various members of Safe Haven were cooking up burgers, hot dogs, BBQ goods, and all kinds of other food. Rudy could be seen here, practically drooling over the food as he gawked at the steaming grills eagerly.

"Rudy, if you get any of your drool on my burger, you're dead."

Hearing that threat from Boomer, Rudy cautiously stepped away from the grills with an uneasy look directed at the duck.

"Same goes to you, Newt." Natal said curtly.

"...like you're one to talk, miss 'plays-with-her-food', y'know." Newt huffed, glancing at the bullfrog, who used her tongue to hold a hot dog bun, prepping it with various condiments and salads, whilst picking a hot dog to place in said bun.

"I'm multitasking; sue me." Natal shrugged, paying no heed to the salamander.

Seeing this banter between the groups, Sonia couldn't help but chuckle, as she folded her arms. "Quite a crew, eh?" she mused, before she glanced at Wiper.

"...you bet." Wiper nodded, as he looked at Sonia as well. "...you'll be staying here, right?"

"Yeah; I couldn't leave this place behind that easily." the rattlesnake shrugged. "We'll stay in touch, though, right?"

"Right." Wiper nodded. "When I have days off duty, I'll come by and give you a few chess lessons."

"That sounds like a date!" Sonia laughed, rubbing the cobra's head.

"Chess lessons indeed..." Boomer murmured under her breath so no one could hear her.

"I knew the BBQ chicken was here somewhere!" Rudy ended up getting shoved over by some more excited guests. Looking up from where he fell on the ground, Striker, Milo, and Jack were all taking their turn to stare at the grill's with ravenous looks.

"Aw c'mon!" Rudy protested.

"Now, now; let's keep it fair." Before the boys could continue being hypocritical, someone pulled them a bit away; Miser, who wore a chef's hat and an apron over her usual attire. "Don't drool over the food, boys; there's plenty for everyone."

"...but we can at least take some food, right?" Jack pleaded, looking at Miser with a pleading look.

"Just wait; Ripper's preparing the next batch, already." Miser chuckled.

A disturbing thought occurred to Milo. He covered his face to hide his horrified look. "He's not killing anything, is he?" he asked.

Miser looked at Milo with a blank expression. "...don't be silly, Milo." she eventually laughed, an innocent look on her face. "All the meat's dead to begin with."

"Uh..." Milo looked embarrassed, but all at the same time, he was worried. "...maybe I'll stick with the potato salad, just to be safe."

"Oh! Can I have your burger then?" pestered Striker.

"Well, if no one else is going to claim it, then I'd say 'go for it'." Saying that, Queen approached the group, taking a stick of fried corn from the grill, before digging into it. "...mn... this is good." she said in-between bites.

"Ha! Queen says I can have it!" boasted Striker.

"...go ahead..." Milo muttered, walking off to look at what else there was to eat.

Charmy and Tails were just sitting at the sidelines watching everyone.

"What a shame that we're too old for this kind of thing," Charmy muttered.

"...quite..." Tails chuckled, taking a sip from a cup of tea. "...but it's nice to see everyone having fun like this."

Charmy leaned back in content. "Reminds you of the good old days, huh Tails?" he laughed.

Tails chuckled in return. "I'd be lying if I told you otherwise." he said, before he folded his arms. "...still... seeing the young ones at peace like this..."

"...well, I'll probably have to think of retirement sooner or later," Charmy muttered. "I'll have to choose the next Captain then...won't that be fun?"

"...hm." Tails hummed, before looking at the old bee. "Well, no sense thinking about it ahead of time. You've still got a few years of energy in reserve, right?" he joked, chuckling a little.

"Course I do!" Charmy laughed.

"As expected." Tails chuckled, before he looked back at the festivities. "...hmm... I can't seem to see Jill, Metal or Joy from here. Do you know where they might be, Charmy?"

"...I'm actually not sure on that," Charmy admitted. "They could still be at Jill's shop..."

"...hm." Tails hummed. "...well, if they're there, they're probably still resting..."

As the festivities went on, over at the shop, everything was silent. With how exhausted they had been after what had transpired the night before, Jill and Joy were still sleeping where they had been lying, and Metal had rested for a bit as well. Right now, the hedgehog sat by the door, his eyes on the Chaos Emeralds. _...I wonder... _he thought.

Well, they had to wake up sooner or later, so when a yawn came from one of them, it wasn't such a surprise to Metal. Joy rubbed her eyes and sat up from Jill's lap.

Glancing towards her, Metal smiled a bit. "...awake, Joy?" he said quietly, so not to wake up Jill.

Joy opened her eyes at Metal. "Mhm," she whispered back with the same smile, climbing off of Jill carefully. "Hi Daddy," she said, coming to hug him.

Metal returned the hug. "...how are you feeling?" he asked, looking at the small ewe.

"Much better," Joy replied, smiling more.

"...I'm glad to hear that." Metal said, as he slowly glanced at Jill. "...when do you think she'll wake up?" he mused.

"I dunno," Joy replied.

"...hm..." Metal hummed, rubbing his chin a little. "...say, Joy... do you feel up for a trip?"

Joy looked up at Metal wonderingly. "What kinda trip?"

"...I'll show you." Metal said, as he picked Joy up, before he walked towards the Chaos Emeralds.

Joy clung to Metal, and since they headed toward the emeralds, she wondered even more what Metal was up to. It seemed really exciting, that's for sure.

Soon, he stopped by the gems, and with a slight nod, Metal knelt by them, picking up the green emerald. "...Chaos Control." he whispered. In that instant, he, Joy and the emeralds vanished.

Once they reappeared, they were on the chunk of land Metropolis was sitting on. The island had, over the course of the day, landed neatly in the ocean, and since everyone else were by the Music Square, no one seemed to be close-by. "...are you feeling alright, Joy?" Metal asked, as he glanced at the little ewe.

Joy had to admit she felt a little dizzy from it, but later on it turned out to be nothing really. Finally, she nodded in response to Metal, and with wide eyes looked around.

This place was amazing! It was a large city, and it looked very old. To think, that Metal had brought this here all by himself!

"...now..." Metal hummed, carefully setting Joy down on the ground. "...do you think you can help me carry some of the emeralds, Joy? I need to bring them somewhere." he asked, as he began picking up a few of the gems.

"Mhm!" Joy only managed to pick up three of them, but at least it was enough help for Metal.

With the other emeralds in his grasp, Metal began slowly heading into town, glancing back at Joy. "Come along, now." he said with a nod.

Joy nodded and obediently followed.

After a while of walking, the two came across a flight of stairs leading underground. Making sure that Joy was close-by, Metal descended downwards, letting the ewe follow him.

Joy looked all around. This place was so new to her…

Once the two reached the bottom of the stairs, Metal opened a doorway that led them into a chamber, where seven pedestals stood. "...let's place these on the pedestals, shall we?" Metal said, before he began setting the emeralds in place.

"Mkay!" Joy followed his example, dropping an emerald once or twice in the process.

After a short while, the two managed to get all the emeralds in place. "...there we go." Metal hummed, before he went and picked Joy up. "Let's go; I've got something else to show you." he said, before he headed out of this chamber, up the stairs.

"What is it?" Joy asked excitedly, once they were back outside again.

"...I'll show you how I was able to bring the city over to Safe Haven." Metal chuckled, before he headed for the city's tallest tower, which showed some signs of disrepair.

"…what happened to this place?" Joy asked, noticing so much damage to the tower.

"...a lot of things, long ago." Metal said. "But that was in the past." he added, as the two of them entered the tower.

"…a lot of things?" Like many times before, Joy started to see things happening. Not only did she see Sonic the Hedgehog and Shadow running up these stairs…but later on, she saw her mother walk up here the same way they did, almost as if she was following them.

And in a sense, Metal and Joy followed them as well, until they reached a control room at the top. "...here it is." Metal said, as he walked over to one of the computer consoles, taking a seat and placing Joy on his lap. "Comfortable?"

"Mhm," Joy said, nodding once more. Then she looked at the screens. "What's dis?" she asked, pointing to each of the computers.

"...they're computers." Metal replied. "Haven't seen one before, have you?" he chuckled, before he logged into the system. "...now, I want you to hold on tight, Joy; this could get bumpy."

"Mkay," and Joy put her arms around Metal's waist from where she sat, holding tight like Metal said.

Nodding, Metal activated a few programs, before a prompt to push the ENTER key appeared. "Here we go... get ready for a massive Chaos Control." Once he pushed the key, the entire island warped away, without anyone in Safe Haven noticing.

Once they materialized, they were flying up in the sky, moving through the air across a wasteland. A screen showed up on the monitor to let Joy see where they were flying.

"…wow!" she exclaimed with both wide eyes, and smile. "We're flying! We're really flying!"

"...yes, we are." Metal chuckled. "All thanks to the Chaos Emeralds."

Joy looked up at Metal in pure, innocent amazement, and then looked back at the screen to see where they were going.

It took a while, but eventually, she saw their destination; a massive hole in the ground, which the city stopped over. "...this is where we'll have to land." Metal hummed, before he looked at Joy. "...unless you'd like to... fly about a bit more?"

"I wanna fly," Joy said. "But not the whole city; Can we fly just by ourselves? Like what Mama did?"

Humming, Metal eventually nodded. "...we can do that." he said, before pressing a button that allowed the city to lower itself down towards the hole. "Once the city lands, we'll fly to your heart's content, Joy." he added with a smile, rubbing her head.

"Yippee!" she giggled.

Hearing that, Metal chuckled, just as the city landed, fitting neatly into the hole. "...now, remind me to take at least one of the emeralds with us when we leave for Safe Haven again, Joy." he said, as he stood up from the computer, before taking Joy with him out of the chamber.

"Mkay, I won't forget!" Joy said. "Promise!"

"...thanks, Joy." Metal chuckled.

Once the two got outside, Metal closed his eyes, as he slowly began lifting off the ground, making sure that Joy held onto him. Joy clutched to him to make sure she wouldn't fall, watching in amazement at how Metal just lifted off the ground like that.

Soon, the two of them had passed by even the tower, overlooking the entire city, and a good portion of the land surrounding it. "...how are you feeling now?" Metal asked. "Are you nervous?"

"...an itsy bit," Joy admitted, looking down at the city. Then she smiled at Metal. "...but I like this!"

Nodding back at her, Metal eventually moved her so that she was holding onto his back. "Remember to hold on tight." he said, as he began flying a bit slowly around.

Joy held on, and every time Metal did a small dive, she let out a giggle.

Glancing back at Joy, Metal smiled, before gently taking hold of her legs, to absolutely make sure that she wouldn't fall off.

Someone watched them from a dark corner in the city, but they couldn't help but step out to watch the two fly around. A warm-hearted smile came to her as she saw her little girl laugh so happily.

"...hey, Joy." Metal eventually said to the little ewe, looking back at her. "Maybe you could try sitting up?" he chuckled. "I'll hold onto you, so don't worry."

"Mkay!" Joy did it slowly, so she wouldn't slip or anything. Eventually she could actually sit up, and there was more of the rush when she was sitting up, so she laughed a little louder. She couldn't help it.

Hearing her laughter, Metal couldn't help but laugh as well, as he kept flying around.

The hidden figure down in the city watched with amazement and content. "…Metal…" she murmured, closing her eyes. "…I'm so glad you came back…"

* * *

_"Dear Diary,"_

_"Everything is as it should be. Deity Novagod is finally gone for good...and I'm not constantly worried anymore. Now that Metal is here, the three of us; me, him, and Joy, have spent the days away doing so many things. We've even gone off island a few times. The look on Joy's face whenever we visited other places was priceless. She finally gets to see more than that tiny island she's grown up on. And I couldn't be happier if I tried. It still surprises me that only 5 years ago Metal and I used to be enemies...and now look at us. Parents."_

_"...and a couple."_

_"I'll have to admit though, it was weird for everyone to get used to. I can understand though, and at least they've grown to support it, some probably more quickly than others. Embarrassing questions always come from King and his group, like: "You guys gonna get married?" or "How do you...you know, DO it?" or some other ridiculous nonsense. I'm sure they're only teasing, but even I wonder about these questions. Well, the first one listed anyway... but that's for some time in the future. I'm just getting used to this myself, after all."_

_"King and Tasha managed to work things out very nicely for his soldiers and her tribe. The treaty King signed with Tasha's father was voted off by everyone, and now tribals and soldiers could visit and converse casually. Both communities formed a kind of team; one looks out for the other. The soldiers helped build the village back up, with better buildings than what the tribals built, and the tribals offered some of their cultural secrets in return; herbs, harvested food, and various other things. Not only that, but King and Tasha have been free to see each other often now, so often that King sometimes skips duties to see her. Sage makes sure he doesn't avoid his responsibilities though."_

_"I've also seen Wiper come back again a few times. I think him and Sonia really have something going, and boy are they cute. I didn't think Sonia was so enthusiastic about chess though...and Wiper, either, for that matter."_

_"And the boys...well, Ani really wasn't sure whether to stay on Safe Haven or come with the boys. She hadn't seen them in so long, and it was a shame for them to take off like everyone else. At the last minute, Ani jumped onto the pirate ship, going with them. We figured as much. So until then, I fill in for her spot at the pub. It's not bad, actually. I've started to serve the milkshakes there too, and people will concoct the weirdest drinks with milkshakes and alcohol. I just hope it doesn't have any damaging side effects. So with me working at the pub, my shop's been neglected a little. Hopefully, there's something we can work out..."_

_"...but I'm glad for once that everyone has a happy ending to this journey. I sure am...For once, no more tragedy or hardship and toil. I can go to sleep in peace in Metal's arms and look forward to another day."_

~THE END~

* * *

**_WOOT! THE END! And guess what? If you guys hang tight, there might be something special I can do with this series...once I get Adobe Flash program that is._**


End file.
